Hot Minute Ep. 3 - Ryuji Kinugawa and #HistorywithHorizon

In the episode of Hot Minute, Bryan is joined by Horizon International Managing Director Ryuji Kinugawa to promote our #HistorywithHorizon LinkedIn campaign. Kinugawa-san has been in Horizon for over 35 years and has experienced many different jobs through during that time making him a crucial component of our team. Listen to hear Kinugawa-san's #HistorywithHorizon story!

Learn more about our #HistorywithHorizon campaign!

＊＊＊＊ What is Hot Minute? ＊＊＊＊
Hot Minute Introduction  
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1245734/13711752

＊＊＊＊ Past Episodes ＊＊＊＊
#2 Hideharu Hori and #HistorywithHorizon
#1 Eijiro Hori and #HistorywithHorizon

Transcript

【Bryan】

Welcome to another episode of Hot Minute with Horizon. Today I’ll be continuing our History with Horizon promotional series with Managing Director of Horizon International: Ryuji Kinugawa. Thank you for joining me for this podcast Kinugawa-san.

【Kinugawa-san】

Thank you.

【Bryan】

I’ll begin by briefly reminding everyone about our “History with Horizon” social media campaign we are holding on LinkedIn. It’s the last month and I know there’s many of you who have been thinking like: I’ll post tomorrow, or this weekend. But time’s running out so it’s time to seize the day!

Just share your “History With Horizon” story on LinkedIn from now to May 3, 2024 with the hashtag “history with horizon”, follow us on linkedin and you’ll be automatically entered into a giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a long post, it could just be a short story about the Horizon machine in your shop or a memory you have with a Horizon representative.

See our website for more information, entry rules, giveaways and story examples.

Now that’s enough from me, let me introduce our guest: Ryuji Kinugawa. Welcome to Hot Minute with Horizon, could we start with a brief introduction about yourself.

【Kinugawa-san】

My name is Kinugawa and I have been working at Horizon for 35 years. I serve as the Managing Director of HORIZON INTERNATIONAL. My favorite hobby is skiing and bicycling. Recently, I even participated in the All Japan Masters Ski Demonstration Championship and a bicycle race.

【Bryan】

Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. I didn’t know you were so talented in skiing, it was a masters competition right? How did it go?

【Kinugawa-san】

Don't ask me Bryan, unfortunately there weren't any good results. But I'll keep challenging myself with these types of competitions because they are important for my mental and physical motivation.

【Bryan】

Yes, It's important to have hobbies outside of work, especially physical ones to keep our minds fine tuned for everyday life, and professional settings. Next, could I have you explain your involvement with Horizon over the years?

【Kinugawa-san】

I have gained various experiences in domestic sales, business promotion, collaborations among manufacturers, OEM business promotion, JDF workflow promotion, and even trend creation work through exhibition planning, closely related to what everyone sees at exhibitions. Looking back, I can say that all of these experiences are useful in my current role.

【Bryan】

I can imagine how have experiences in so many different faucets of Horizon would help prepare you for work as a managing director. With all these experiences, some of them had to be difficult. What has been one of your most challenging experiences here at Horizon?

【Kinugawa-san】

I started planning and managing exhibitions in 1999, and in particular the 1999 IGAS left a big impression on me. Our booth was 1,000 square meters, and there were 3 presentation corners with presentations in both Japanese and English. Until then, Horizon had only lined up machines in the reserved booth space and given explanatory machine presentations, so I think this was a real changing point for Horizon.

The following year, I experienced drupa 2000, and learned first hand how difficult it is to attract people to a presentation.

【Bryan】

Recently it seems that our presentations attract quite a bit of people, was it different in the past?

【Kinugawa-san】

As our name was not yet well known at the time, we realized how difficult it was to attract people. I think we gradually began to attract more and more customers by conducting presentations that were easy to understand using animations and computer graphics, and without using difficult words. This way, even people who did not know anything about machines would still be interested. Recently, we use CG to explain our products more and more, but this started with presentations at exhibitions and has continued up to the present.

【Bryan】

Being relatively new to the industry, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to explain our solutions without CG, like a paper folder for example. And on top of that, show it in a way that attracts someone who doesn’t know anything about them and keeps their interest! 

Changing topics, what is one of your most memorable moments at Horizon so far?

【Kinugawa-san】

The Red Cup Challenge!!!!

【Bryan】

Red cups are synonymous to university parties in the US, right?

You’ve got me interested, please share this story.

【Kinugawa-san】

The day before a GraphExpo tradeshow in Chicago I attended the reception of our American dealer Standard, it was here I confronted Kihm Lattimore with a whiskey for the Red Cup Challenge party game and failed miserably. Even now, I regret that I was reckless. Thanks to that, the next day I couldn't go to the exhibition hall or even get out of bed. Jay Darcy came to my room in the evening the next day, and gave me water and crackers. I remember that it was like an act of god.

Even now, I sometimes forget this event, but then Kihm offers me a Red Cup and I remember those days and laugh.

【Bryan】

That sounds like an experience that most people experience at least once in their lifetime, but never want to experience again. I'm glad it turned out ok.

Next can you share your History with Horizon?

【Kinugawa-san】

Although Horizon was originally a small player among post-press manufacturers in the printing industry, it has grown significantly in its history of 35 years that I have known it. We now collaborate with many manufacturers, especially printer manufacturers, and have come to be recognized as a key global player in the industry.

I believe this is largely due to our continued efforts to be friendly and easy to operate, to function within a workflow, and to stay within the middle range. One other thing is that we never say "no," we always accept new challenges.

【Bryan】

I see... we never say no, so we always get new work…

【Kinugawa-san】

That’s right! Nothing comes out from NO, however, YES is a keyword that leads to the next step. Even if the new work doesn’t materialize. I think this attitude is especially important for the future, because it will allow us to seize many opportunities.

【Bryan】

Thank you for your History with Horizon, I can't imagine how proud you must be to see how Horizon has changed in the last 35 years. Thank you for your time today, I think I want to close the podcast up.
Do you have any last words for our listeners?

【Kinugawa-san】

Looking back through this social media campaign, we have shared a lot of history with you. I feel that now is the right time to step up for a stronger Horizon. We have endless aspirations: of course we will continue to provide both stand alone and system machines, but at the same time strive towards further automation through end-to-end systems and even “lights-out production” with the integration of robots and AGV. There is still a long way to go, with many interesting possibilities waiting in the future, so let's walk together.

【Bryan】

Thank you so much for your time today Kinugawa-san, it was a pleasure having you on today’s episode and hearing your “History with Horizon”.

【Kinugawa-san】

Thank you Bryan. I hope everyone submits a History with Horizon. I look forward to reading them.