As a good corporate citizen, our company actively contributes to society. Our activities include:
In 2020, we provided financial support to our local communities
in Japan and around the world.
Additionally, although many production facilities had to forgo
offering internships due to the coronavirus, five plants outside
of Japan hosted a total of 74 interns.
In December 2020, the TRA Michigan plant participated in the Christmas Program run by the Portland Community Fund (PCF), donating non-perishable food items to help provide holiday dinners for local families in need.
Now in its fifth and final year, the THK Education Outreach
Program began in 2017 as a special project in anticipation of
our 50th anniversary in 2021 and with the desire to introduce
children to the joy of manufacturing. The objective of this project
is to use manufacturing education to foster talent that can
create and develop, thinking about issues with classmates
and arriving at solutions.
The coronavirus caused a number of events to be canceled
or postponed in 2020. Many schools were closed for about
three months between March and May, which meant that we
did not conduct our middle school visits as we had done in
the past.
However, we decided to hold virtual interviews for the 4th
Science Castle Grant THK Prize, which is aimed at students
pursuing manufacturing-related research and development.
Although the application period was during the school closures,
we received submissions from 20 schools. Ten of
those were selected, and those students spent half a year
developing their project. The annual gathering at the end of
December to present everyone’s results was held online, but
we made use of the meeting chat to liven things up in a different
way than an in-person event. Among the ten entries,
Okayama Junior and Senior High School was selected for the
Best Development Prize.
We will resume our school trips and continue the Science
Castle Grant THK Prize in 2021, and we are also planning
to release new learning materials that can be used in middle
school engineering curricula.
Seeing the 2018 floods damage our friends’ houses and
watching the rescue teams saving people from the widespread
flooding downtown after the levees collapsed made
us realize our limitations. That is how we came up with the
concept of creating a disaster prevention robot to minimize
damage immediately after a levee collapses.
We named it the Megaslime 39. First, it uses an air pump to
cause balloons to float, then an electromagnetic valve is used
to release the air so the balloons can be filled with water. After
that, a submersible pump adds the water so the balloons will
sink from the weight of the liquid. The six water-filled balloons
then plug the space where the river has broken its bank. The
current robot is a miniature, indoor model. Because the battery
runs out quickly and it cannot be used outside of the remote
control range, it is 70% complete. However, we should
make a breakthrough if we can come up with solutions like
adding a solar cell to keep it from losing power or putting a
cellphone inside the robot to operate it remotely by using the
electric current from when the phone produces sound.
When we started on this project, we were unsure if we
would be successful, but our advisor supported us over
those six months and gave us very reassuring advice whenever
we ran into trouble. Because of the pandemic, we ran
into issues with the audio and frozen screens when meeting
online, but we ended up with an amazing creation. There are
big challenges ahead, but we hope to see this disaster prevention
robot in action.
As part of our response to the coronavirus, we provided appropriate assistance to medical institutions and health care workers who treat and care for patients, and we also aided local schools and suppliers.
Facility | Beneficiary | Details |
---|---|---|
THK Headquarters | Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s mask team | Donated 12,900 medical N95 masks |
THK Headquarters | National Cancer Center Japan | Donated 3,120 medical N95 masks |
THK Singapore | Health care workers | Joined “Clap For #SGUnited” at 8 p.m. to express gratitude |
THK Singapore | Health care workers | Joined “Sing Together Singapore” to sing the Singapore National Day song “Home” at 7:55 p.m. |
THK Changzhou (China) | Two machining parts suppliers | Shared documents to prepare for reopening and helped the suppliers meet government requirements for reopening |
THK Changzhou (China) | Xuejiazhen government | Donated 300 masks |
TMA (USA) | Perry County Family Practice | Donated five 3D-printed face shields |
TMA (USA) | Licking Memorial Hospital | Donated fifty 3D-printed ear guards for masks |
TMA (USA) | Licking Memorial Hospital | Donated 200 coveralls, 400 shoe coverings, and 8 face shields with headgear |
TRA Michigan (USA) | St. Patrick School | Donated 24 desktop plastic barriers made in-house to prevent the spread of droplets |
As part of our contributions to society, we provide financial assistance in times of natural disasters and donate money to organizations devoted to the advancement of science and the future development of manufacturing in Japan.
Date | Purpose | Recipient |
---|---|---|
1/2020 | Japan Science Foundation support/membership dues | Japan Science Foundation |
7/2020 | Activity funds | Japanese Red Cross |
9/2020 | Japan Philharmonic Orchestra special member fee | Japan Philharmonic Orchestra |
10/2020 | The Disaster Relief Fund for Victims | Central Community Chest of Japan |
12/2020 | Holiday meal program | Portland Community Fund Association |