At Byora, we believe that giving factory tours is one important part of our contribution to society. In 2018, we gave tours of our factories to 500 people from elementary, middle, and high school as well as to university students and citizen groups. The primary goal of these tours is to introduce people to cold forming technology and to have them see the parts made here that are components of things they use everyday without realizing it. Our goal with these tours is create an interest in the craftsmanship that goes into manufacturing and to perhaps inspire a new generation of engineers.
Through industry, academic, and government cooperation and collaboration, private enterprise utilizes the research results and technology which universities and institutions obtain. Fukui Byora's future is fostered in these cooperative research and development activities, giving us entirely new technologies for mutual benefit.
Through one such endeavor, we developed a new fuel cell system that uses an aluminum electrode. Up until now, carbon electrodes were typically used in fuel cells, but carbon electrodes have the disadvantage of being very fragile and prone to cracking. By using aluminum as the material, the durability of the electrode was greatly improved upon. To counter the problem of a metal electrode rusting inside the fuel cell, Fukui Byora developed a carbon coating less than 0.3 microns thick that effectively prevents corrosion. We are continuing research in this field so that we can make more contributions to the fuel cell industry in years to come.
From 2005, we have implemented an international internship program, bringing overseas foreign university student interns to our company. The interns come from various countries such as the USA, Canada, and the UK and they are offered an opportunity for employment experience in a Japanese manufacturing environment. Fukui Byora aims toward continual growth as a global enterprise and to strengthen the overall creative and talent pool. In addition, through the internship system the interns themselves can acquire important experience, gain opportunity to learn the Japanese language and culture, and practical skill in their chosen field of study and employment.