During my GSEP Trip, I and the other GSEP students got an opportunity to visit Torishima Pump Mfg. Co., Ltd. It was a pump manufacturer located in Osaka. We visited this company to get insights about working in Japanese Industry.
Firstly, we gathered in a room to listen to a brief introduction about the company.
Torishima Manufacturing was founded in Osaka, Japan in August 1919. It started to manufacture its first pump which was a single-stage single-suction turbine pump in the following year. As of March 31, 2016, the company has 1547 consolidated and 824 non-consolidated employees. According to the person in the company, currently the company has 23 branches over 15 countries including USA, Indonesia, China, and UAE. Furthermore, the he also stated that products of the company have been installed in more than 100 countries.
After listening to the introduction of the company, we also learned a bit about the mechanical structure of a pump. Pump is a machine that is used to move fluids from one place to another. We learned several basic parts of a pump such as impeller, shaft, casing, and seal. The lecturer also explained several types of pump. Torishima has manufactured many high-tech pumps such as boiler feed pump for power plant, high-pressure seawater supply pump for seawater desalination plant, and storm water drainage pump for drainage pumping station. The lecture was continued with a Q&A session about the company and the structure of pumps.
After the company talk, the engineers guided us for a tour inside the factory. Basically, the factory was divided into areas for making the mould, casting, assembling, testing, and packaging. The engineer explained each area briefly. We also asked several questions about the pump such as how to choose the most suitable material for a pump and basic design of a pump. Additionally, we also discussed the structure and function of the mechanical seal which was also produced by the company.
During the tour, I found some cautions were written in Indonesian language. For instance, I found a caution “Hati-hati!” meaning “Be careful!” in some spots inside the factory. The staff explained to me that some cautions were written in Indonesian language because there were many Indonesian workers in Torishima. At the end of the tour, we also met a Tokyo Tech alumnus who worked at Torishima. She explained that besides the skills in engineering, communication skill was also crucial for working in a Japanese company like Torishima.
At the evening after the trip, we conducted a review session. Each of us told our experiences during the trip to Torishima Pump Mfg. Co., Ltd.. We also discussed about the manufacturing process in general. From this trip to Torishima, I found that designing step is more interesting to me than the other manufacturing steps. I believe that innovations can be made mostly in this process.
Written by Ryza Rynazal, Indonesia