The exhibition and event industry is facing new challenges such as countermeasures against infectious diseases, the importance of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in addition to the traditional industry issues such as shortage of human resources and short set-up and disassemble times. Shoei Bijutsu is trying to face these challenges with its own unique strategy. More than 1,000 people from within and outside the industry attended the preview event “SHOEI START EXPO 2021” held from April 5th to 16th at SHOEI Bay Studio in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, and the company’s activities are attracting attention.
This is a report of the preview day.
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Showroom
Extra-Large Fabric Wall Booth
New business and initiatives have been proposed in accordance with the New-Era values and social responsibility required of future companies: 1) Sustainable Partner, 2) On/Off Hybrid Marketing Solutions, 3) Display solutions for future space utilization.
At first, visitors were greeted with the overwhelming impact of a large graphic booth titled “Whale of Hope” using a single sheet of tension fabric (5m high, 15m wide).
The company has separate departments for each technology, such as signage, framing, lighting, and construction, but since all the engineers are gathered in the Bay Studio, large-scale development can be carried out in one place.
The 200-inch monitor in the front of the room showed a video of the booth being built by a small number of people in a quick and efficient manner.
A special booth set up by UniPlan, a rental unit system of Woodwork.
Since its establishment as a woodworking factory, Shoei Bijutsu has been engaged in the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) for scrap wood from production, which used to be thrown away, and for building materials that were discarded when the site was removed.
This concern for the environment has led to today’s proactive activities for the SDGs.
This time, an exhibited booth was made by assembling woodworking unit parts, where all those units were previously used in other events and exhibitions.
The project was born out of a feeling of “wastefulness” when it comes to building structures that are all destroyed when they are removed, and now the large-sized site of the Bay Studio is used for stocking and maintenance of those parts.
In the past, it has been suggested that reused products should be provided at a discount price since they were not popular, but recently, as companies are placing more importance on their commitment to the SDGs, more of them asking specifically for reused equipment.
“Shoei Bijutsu has set its own ES (Event Sustainability) goal as a target related to No.7 to No.13 of SDGs. We have also obtained ISO 20121 certification to ensure that our activities are easily understood by our customers and beyond.”, said Vice President Hayama Hiroyuki.
Each department sets specific numerical targets for improvement and has achieved such things as eliminating stretch film (reducing the amount of plastic used) by improving trolleys, reusing waste materials (reducing wood waste), and reducing the number of trucks used for transportation through operation management.
As a company that integrates production and sales, Shoei Bijutsu’s strength lies in its ability to work with an awareness of sustainability in every step of the event process, from the planning stage to design, construction, operation, and removal.
“We are always open to new ideas from all employees to achieve our goals,” added Hayama Hiroyuki.
Object Booth
One of in-house space designers proposed a space called “Spiral to the Future”.
The object required a highly complex 3D woodworking construction technique, which was completed through collaboration between experienced and young employees.
As an answer to the issue of the shortage of human resources, Shoei Bijutsu implemented the concept of passing on the knowledge from the skilled to the young and training the next generation of craftsmen.
It shows the company’s high technological capabilities.
Examples of Interior Construction
The interior design examples and commercial products were introduced in four different scenes, including public facilities and stores. Seeing the various applications of tension fabric, it was easy to realize its versatility and potential.
Building No. 1
Rental Products, Lighting, and Audio-Visual Equipment
The first through third floors are used for storage and quality control of rental products, lighting, and audio-visual equipment. The company owns 150,000 items of 1,500 types, including equipment for online events, tents and benches for outdoor events, and special equipment such as Japanese umbrellas and folding screens, as the number of online streaming events held in the Bay Studio showroom is rapidly increasing.
Building No. 2
Woodwork Production and Installation Department
In order to improve work efficiency, equipment and materials are thoroughly organized in compartments, and the work area is designed to let in more light from outside, creating a comfortable working environment for employees.
Sawdust is cleaned with a special vacuum cleaner to maintain the cleanliness of the factory.
The shortage of installation craftsmen in the exhibition industry remains a serious problem so the company has set up its own specialized training department.
In order to ensure that even new employees and part-time staff can learn specialized work efficiently, all tasks are manualized, and the latest tools are available. The manualization of work is not limited to the woodworking and installation sections only but is implemented across all departments, and all manuals were shown to the public at the preview.
Building No. 3
Unit Components Storage
The storage shelves are movable from side to side, and the aisles are made into a single-aisle to make effective use of the warehouse area. For safety purposes, the forklift trucks are equipped with cameras that allow them to see the top of the piles. Currently, a system using color codes and wearable cameras is being developed in cooperation with partner companies and universities as a new measure to prevent the misplacement of materials.
Better trucks
Improved trucks have been showcased as well.
In order to complete the construction within the limited set-up time for exhibitions and events, the company completes the structures in advance and then brings them to the venue, but in the past, there were no trucks that could carry structures of about 2.7 meters, the height of a typical booth.
In response to this, the company improved its trucks and equipped them with a mechanism that allows the height of each container to be adjusted.
This has made it possible to transport the finished products directly to the site, shortening the construction time and solving the problem of manpower shortage while maintaining the quality.
Display & Sign Center
With its extensive production system, the center has a full range of equipment for signage, including large cutting and acrylic processing machines.
The latest equipment that can print directly on thick materials, and a new initiative interiors and display shelves assembled by printing on environmentally friendly and highly workable paper material boards has been exhibited as well.
Hybrid Marketing Introduction Booth
Under the title of “Seed Exhibition,” a presentation on hybrid marketing through the fusion of offline and online was held introducing a new DX solution for the Corona Era.
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The Bay Studio consisted of five buildings, and all areas were well organized with 5S (整理(Seiri) – Organization, 整頓(Seiton) – Order, 清掃(Seiso) – Cleanliness, 清潔(Seiketsu) – Tidiness, and 躾(Shitsuke) – Discipline).
Many of the participants, who had imagined a typical factory or warehouse, were surprised by the scale and cleanliness of Bay Studio, the specific actions taken to achieve the SDGs goals, and the business management system including quality control and human resource development.
Despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shoei Bijutsu’s future growth is definitely going to be an exciting journey and a successful platform for the new challenges.