Support for Customers’ Disaster Recovery
Hoshizaki’s domestic distributors dispatch service staff from distributors all over the country to provide recovery support to customers affected by major natural disasters, such as typhoons and earthquakes. After a disaster takes place, staff from all over Japan quickly gather at the distributors in the affected areas, repair Hoshizaki products and help with volunteer activities such as cleaning up stores.
When torrential rains hit western Japan in June-July 2018, staff from 10 domestic distributors nationwide gathered to help, assisting affected customers with repairs and store restoration.In addition, in the wake of Typhoon Faxai, which hit Chiba Prefecture in September 2019, we assisted customers in their recovery efforts with support from staff not only from Hoshizaki Kanto, which is in charge of product sales and maintenance services in Chiba Prefecture, but also from other Group companies in the Tokyo metropolitan area.In addition to manpower support for recovery, we also provide support for reconstruction by loaning products, and providing relief materials and donations.
When the February 2021 Fukushima earthquake occurs, we refrained from dispatching staff from non-local areas due to the impact of the spread of COVID-19. However, we did make efforts to support customer recovery by sending staff from distributors in areas with minimal damage and whose territories included the affected areas.
Hoshizaki Green Foundation
Hoshizaki Green Foundation was founded in 1990*, based on the strong affinity of Hoshizaki's founder, Shigetoshi Sakamoto, for nature in his hometown. The Foundation has the mission of contributing to the preservation of the natural environment by conserving and propagating wildlife, and creating harmony between people and nature. The foundation raises awareness of the importance of nature conservation through research, studies, and environmental maintenance aimed at conserving and propagating wildlife, as well as publishing information on its activities. It does this through initiatives including development of Lake Shinji Green Park on the banks of Lake Shinji, and Furusato Shakunouchi Park in Unnan City, and the operation of the Shimane Prefectural Lake Shinji Nature Museum. Hoshizaki supports the foundation’s activities and leverages the knowledge and expertise gained through participation in activities to advance development of natural environments on its plant grounds and in its local communities.
*Core funding provided by Hoshizaki shares bequeathed by the late founder, Shigetoshi Sakamoto, and through Sakamoto Donation Foundation stock contributed by the current Chairman & CEO (and current Foundation chair), Seishi Sakamoto and his wife.
The Hoshizaki Charity Club
The Hoshizaki Charity Club is a voluntary organization for Hoshizaki Group employees and executives in Japan, and collects amounts under 100 yen from the salaries and bonuses of members and donates them as funding to support organizations engaged in social contribution activities.
The club's support activities commenced in April 2012, and due to the support of many employees and others, as of the end of FY 2021, the club had around 6,600 members, which is a participation rate of around 75%.
Employees of each Group company serve as steering committee members on a rotating basis, selecting donation recipients, and in FY 2021, donations were made to 18 organizations offering support for children in need, persons with disabilities, and natural disaster recovery.
The club’s support activities provide opportunities to increase interest in voluntary social contribution activities.
Support for Community Development
Through its volunteer activities and donations of support funds and Hoshizaki products, Hoshizaki is actively involved in a wide range of support for new businesses and activities that promote regional development and revitalization.Its main initiatives are as follows.
Educational Support for Children and Students, etc.
We provide donations and other support for educational projects that lead to the growth of children and students in the municipalities where our plants are located.
We have also donated our ice machines to help prevent heat stroke in the summer.
Supporting the Independence of Persons with Disabilities
We contribute to the creation of the necessary environment for the employment of people with disabilities through donations of Hoshizaki products and initiatives such as allowing a mobile bakery and a food truck organized by non-profit organizations that support the independence of people with disabilities in the community to sell their wares on Hoshizaki premises.
Cleaning and Beautification Activities
Every year, we participate in a cleanup of the lakeshore (of Sakura Orochi Lake) near our plant (in Unnan City).
We contribute to the beautification of the lake environment by also providing the plant's light trucks and lawn mowers for use.
Communication and Friendship between Employees and the Community
Hoshizaki provides factory tours for elementary, junior high and high schools and other organizations. We hope to make contributions to education by showing manufacturing processes and employees working on them and thereby making local people feel the "importance of working" and "the fun of manufacturing". In FY2021, we provided a factory tour to one school and held on-site lessons at two schools at the Shimane Factory, with sufficient measures against COVID-19, such as temperature measurement and installation of antiseptic solution in place. We also provided online factory tours to two schools at the Head Office Factory, after careful consideration regarding how to continue factory tours while assuring safety and comfort even under the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the above, we hold "Hoshizaki Family Day" to invite our employees and their families to the factory. In FY2021, it was held online for the first time to prevent the spread of COVID-19. We are deepening their understanding of Hoshizaki’s businesses through introductory videos on the production process and our facilities, question and answer corners and quizzes.
Support for the Special Olympics
Special Olympics (SO) is an international sports organization that provides a variety of sports training to people with intellectual disabilities, as well as competitions where they can show the results of their training. We support SO through charitable donations, and as a result, awareness is rising in Aichi and Shimane prefectures.
