【My impressions of joining the new company】Kankyo Daizen 環境大善
Hey guys, I’m Ryo Takei.
I have decided to start working at Kankyo Daizen, a biotech venture in Kitami, in February 2022.
I will mainly be in charge of marketing and PR work.
I would like to write my impressions of joining the new company.
I hope this article will be helpful to everyone who is interested in Kankyo Daizen.
What have you been doing?
Born in Kitami City, Hokkaido Japan.
Grew up in Kitami for elementary, junior high, and high school, and graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at Hokkaido University and the Graduate School of Information Science at Hokkaido University.
Worked in the automotive industry for seven years in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture as a researcher and developer.
I was mainly involved in the development of the next generation of LED headlamps and rear lamps.
I have now made a U-turn with my family and decided to join Kankyo Daizen.
There are two reasons why I decided to join Kankyo Daizen from a completely different field.
1. Focusing on branding
First, the product packaging is stylish!
Even the product, a deodorant solution, was presented in a design that could become part of the home interior.
However, the key to the success of Kankyo Daizen was not just the attention to the design of the packaging.
The corporate logo character (Daizen-kun, the good bacteria) was placed on uniforms, factory buildings, business cards, and even envelopes, branding the entire company as a unified image.
Then, in March 2020, they even changed the company name to achieve a unified image!
The fact that they had teamed up with a famous art director in Sapporo to create a visible branding was what made me think that there was an interesting local company.
2. Focusing on R&D
The other thing that struck me was that there was a company in Kitami that appealed to R&D!
They don't just make products and sell them, but also conduct research on how they work and whether they can use them in new products by clarifying the principles.
They have also opened a joint research course at Kitami Institute of Technology and have a wide range of experimental equipment in their spacious laboratory.
Looking at the recruitment page, I was hopeful that Kankyo Daizen would allow me to pursue the essence of manufacturing!
Branding and research & development.
I was attracted to the uniqueness of the company because of its focus on both branding and research & development, and decided to enter the company.
I also found Dot Doto's job postings on #Hiring in Doto very helpful!
How was the interview?
Next, I would like to share with you the process by which I was selected to join Kankyo Daizen.
The selection process may change in the future, but please take a look at it as a reference.
I applied in October of 2021.
I used the entry form on the website to freely write about my strengths and what I wanted to do after joining the company.
I was impressed that I wasn't sent a handwritten resume or asked to submit an entry sheet with many questions and hundreds of words, as is the case with new graduates job hunting in Japan.
At this point, I sensed that they wanted to hear from more people.
I sent in my entry form and was immediately scheduled for an online interview within the same week by Zoom.
I was given the opportunity to talk to three people for about an hour, listening to their stories and talking about what I wanted to do.
From there, I submitted a brief resume and took a web test.
What was even more unique was the StrengthsFinder, an aptitude test for diagnosing strengths.
It was developed by a research consulting company in the U.S. and is effective in finding out one's personal strengths in the workplace.
(Based on this StrengthsFinder test and my interaction in the interview, I was expected to do something other than the research work I had been doing.)
In November, I traveled from Tokyo to Kitami, where I was given a full day to meet with the company president and tour the plant, laboratory, and raw material plant.
That was the end of the screening process, and about a week later, I was officially informed of the job offer.
How do you feel about joining the company?
Kankyo Daizen purchases cow urine from local dairy farmers and uses its unique fermentation and cultivation technology to produce "good bacteria activated water".
Using this as a raw material, we commercialize it as a deodorant solution and soil conditioner, turning it into something valuable.
My future work will mainly be in charge of marketing and PR for these products that address the SDGs.
Our company is still a small company and they are looking for all-around talents, so I've been attending various meetings to give my input.
For example, I've been invited to accompany the president on interviews, and I've been involved in the management of the SNS.
The company is full of venture spirit, and I can feel the speed and momentum of the company much more than I have in large companies.
Moreover, the president's daily words and visions are very passionate!
In fact, cattle urine used to be a cause of bad odor and water pollution when it flowed into rivers due to rain.
When it is completely fermented with the power of microorganisms, it not only becomes odorless, but can also be turned into a beneficial liquid that deodorizes and promotes the growth of crops.
Working together with local dairy farmers, the products we create are useful for agriculture not only in Hokkaido, but also nationwide and overseas.
This will in turn lead to the raw materials for the products we produce.
(We call this kind of manufacturing, which gives new value, an "up-cycling circulation system.)
As a future-oriented person, every time I hear the president's vision, I get excited and moved!
What are your goals for the future?
I want to raise my children in the natural surroundings of Kitami Hokkaido, and at the same time, I want to help revitalize my hometown of Kitami, Doto, and Hokkaido.
When someone wants to make a U-turn or move to a rural area, not only in Hokkaido, the first major challenge is to find a job.
Fortunately for me, there is a company in my hometown called Kankyo Daizen that has a vision for the future, and I was able to successfully enter the company.
However, there were many people around me from my hometown who had moved to Tokyo and wanted to return to their hometowns, but felt that there were no jobs or industries.
Through my work at Kankyo Daizen, I want to develop the company and grow the local industry.
I believe that by doing so, people who want to make a U-turn or move to East Hokkaido will be able to have hope that they can have a new life here.
This can be a hope not only for those who want to come from outside, but also for those who remain in the area.
I want to increase the work that I can do now and create the future together with everyone who supports Kankyo Daizen.
To those who are interested in Kankyo Daizen
I think it is an attractive environment to be able to work in a place full of nature, in the eastern part of Hokkaido, while also having a good private life.
No matter where you are or what you are doing now, you may have something in common with us.
If you are at all interested in Kankyo Daizen, manufacturing with the global environment in mind, or our products, we look forward to hearing from you!
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