CSV Stories
To Continue to be No. 1 in Global Market Share Optical Fiber Fusion Splicer to Support the Infrastructure for a 5G Society
The Fujikura Group optical fusion splicer is used widely in many countries around the world. It is worthy of its reputation for low-loss splicing of optical fibers and is said to be the global standard. There is a perpetual demand for even more advanced technology to meet the need for higher optical fiber performance and higher quality in optical fiber fusion and it is also showing great promise and potential for future 5G and IoT communities. The Fujikura Group fusion splicer business currently possesses dealerships as strategic partners in over 90 countries worldwide and possesses a reliable network that provides meticulous sales and after service. We are also maintaining our position as the No. 1 manufacturer in global market share by maintaining an R&D structure to advance technology and prevent other competitors from catching up, a manufacturing line with top cost performance, and by strengthening the sales structure to support our marketing strategy. |
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I Want to Work on Products that Command Top Global Market Share
When I was a student, I had the strong desire to work at Fujikura, which invents products that are used around the world. I also knew that the optical fiber fusion splicer is an indispensable device for installing optical fiber and was full of hope that I could be involved in design and development work on optical fusion splicers, which have limitless potential for supporting global social infrastructure.
Using my Experience in Being Stationed Overseas
I have worked on designing and developing optical fiber fusion splicers since I joined the company. I was also sent to the U.S. on assignment during my fourth year in the company. In the U.S., I worked on new product development for optical fiber fusion splicers and supported the products that customers wanted. I was much closer to the customers than I was when I worked on development in Japan and customers communicated the functions they wanted to me directly. I felt that they communicated such needs precisely because they had loved Fujikura Group products for many years. I also learned that optical fiber fusion splicers are used in a much wider variety of work environments than I had imagined in Japan. I directly experienced the necessity for the products that support social infrastructure to be easy for workers to operate and be usable in any type of work environment, not just in Japan but everywhere in the world. I have naturally used my experience in working in the U.S. after I returned to Japan in considering how easy a device is to use, and have also used my experience in considering how easy a product is for a worker to assemble at the manufacturing site, and have taken care to design products that will result in greater work efficiency from those perspectives. There is no greater sense of accomplishment than when a prototype product I have created actually functions as I thought it would.
The Achievements of My Esteemed Predecessors
Since Fujikura announced the first optical fiber fusion splicer it developed in 1978, it has continued to manufacture finely crafted products as part of its mission “to create exceptional value for our customers around the world using "Tsunagu" technologies.” |
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Continuing to Take on the Challenge of Creating Products that Meet the Needs of Society
The optical world of today would probably not have existed without Fujikura’s optical fiber fusion splicer or without the efforts of my esteemed predecessors. I think that the role Fujikura has played is that immense. Fujikura’s optical fiber fusion splicers are now loved around the world because they have precisely met the needs of each era since the first one was developed. I have also worked on designing and developing optical fiber fusion splicers from various perspectives since I joined the company and this has made me conscious of how I must continue to take on perpetual challenge of making sure that our optical fiber fusion splicers are products that continue to meet the needs of society in each future era.
We repeatedly test and evaluate products many times to make sure that one defect does not cause us to lose the customer trust that our predecessors have built. We pay meticulous attention to quality and are providing products to the world that make it easy to splice without relying on the skill of the customer.We repeatedly test and evaluate products many times to make sure that one defect does not cause us to lose the customer trust that our predecessors have built. We pay meticulous attention to quality and are providing products to the world that make it easy to splice without relying on the skill of the customer.
The Fujikura Group solves Social Problems
In the Fujikura Group, we personally develop an image of a product that the market wants, and then develop and provide the product. When I capture the needs of society and actually produce a product that meets our customers’ needs and pleases customers, I feel the fact that a product I personally worked on is contributing to the maintenance and development of infrastructure even more keenly than before. |
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World’s Highest(Ultra High) Core Density Optical Fiber with Ultimate cable structure AFL Telecommunications LLC
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Fujikura is constantly seeking new opportunities to drive global growth and market expansion through revolutionary technologies like SpiderWeb Ribbon® (SWR®). SWR is a new platform in fiber optic ribbon technology. It reduces installation time, cost and enables the reliable, low loss connections necessary to meet bandwidth and latency requirements of 5G and high speed data transmission. Today’s consumers and end users demand this. |
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Three years ago, an AFL team of product, commercial, and operations management embarked on a journey to manufacture and market cables utilizing SWR technology. SWR cable delivers a differentiated solution providing lighter, smaller diameter cables compared to conventional ribbon or single-fiber loose tube solutions.
Leveraging the long history of Fujikura’s manufacturing expertise, AFL formalized plans to establish a U.S.-based production facility to increase global capability. The goal was to fully qualify domestically-manufactured SWR Cable that is compliant with North American performance standards.
Joint SWR teams executed a
partnership to:
• transfer the design and production technologies
• outfit a new manufacturing facility
• educate and train AFL’s engineering and sales teams.
As North American SWR cable operations ramped up in late 2017, the adoption of a Zero-Defect Culture was crucial to long-term business success. This philosophy not only improves our financial performance and customer satisfaction, but also reduces waste in the landfills and ultimately our carbon footprint. AFL’s core engineering and technical teams visited the Sakura Fujikura factory to benchmark manufacturing process controls and train alongside the skilled workforce in order to comply with rigorous industry qualifications.
AFL’s North American SWR cable operations team celebrated its first successful shipment in September 2017. Since then, they have steadily increased output to meet demand through: |
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