Yushin America Inc. strives to understand and meet growing customer need

EVOLVING BUSINESS: From left, Yushin America Inc. President Takaya Sugimura, National Sales Manager Christopher Parillo, Human Resources Manager Karen Paolucci, Director of Operations Michael R. Greenhalgh and Inventory and Parts Sales Manager Brad Haworth are constantly evolving the company’s operations to better serve and strengthen relationships with its customers. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
EVOLVING BUSINESS: From left, Yushin America Inc. President Takaya Sugimura, National Sales Manager Christopher Parillo, Human Resources Manager Karen Paolucci, Director of Operations Michael R. Greenhalgh and Inventory and Parts Sales Manager Brad Haworth are constantly evolving the company’s operations to better serve and strengthen relationships with its customers. / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

PBN MANUFACTURING AWARDS 2020 | Overall Excellence, 50-149 employees: Yushin America Inc.


YUSHIN AMERICA INC., and its team, constantly seeks new and innovative ways to better serve customers.

The company, founded in 1988, helps support sales in North America. It is the oldest and largest subsidiary of Yushin Precision Equipment, a world supplier of robots for the injection-molding industry.

A critical aspect of Yushin’s operations is every facet of order fulfillment is handled in one location. From design, fabrication and assembly to runoff, testing, packaging and shipping, Yushin is a true “one-stop shop” for customers.

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“We are not just a distributor with a warehouse full of products that just get picked, packed and shipped,” said Michael R. Greenhalgh, Yushin’s director of operations. “We are an engineering resource for our customers that is focused on maximizing their return on investment and utilization of our robotics. We carry more inventory than our competitors and we harness that inventory and our engineering and production resources in a more creative manner.”

Drawing on years of collective experience and knowledge, Greenhalgh said Yushin builds superior value for its customers.

“We do not just quote projects to make a sale; we strive to understand the needs of our customers and help them make decisions to strengthen their organization with the proper utilization of robotics and downstream equipment,” Greenhalgh said.

Yushin has taken steps to improve the services and products it provides and to strengthen its internal team. Yushin contributes directly to the continued development of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training’s Computer Numerical Control Machinist Registered Apprentice program by providing mentors and job-shadowing opportunities, hosting public manufacturing plant tours and hiring candidates who have completed the program.

Yushin also developed Yushin University, a free online training portal for its customers offering maintenance, programming and robot operations courses. More than 2,300 customer staff members are currently registered and enrolled.

To handle its growing customer base and workload, Yushin expanded its in-house machine shop to two shifts, doubling staff. It’s a level of commitment that Greenhalgh feels further differentiates Yushin from its competitors.

“As we meet with our customers and explain the fundamental operations of Yushin America, they become aware of who we are, what we do and why we do it,” Greenhalgh said. “Our customers get an in-depth understanding of our daily operations and this helps us regularly convert and add new customers. The outsourcing model has its place, but finding vendors that control their own core competencies can be critical to project success.”

Yushin also remains determined to be environmentally conscious. Along with updating its lighting with LED bulbs and replacing heating, ventilation and air conditioning units with newer models, Yushin is a member of PLASTICS, the Plastics Industry Association, which encourages companies engaged in plastics manufacturing to make sustainability a guiding principle with its operations.

To that end, Yushin promotes using recycled plastics in new products, and educates employees, educational organizations and customers on recycling.

“Yushin works hard to ensure that we are not creating excess waste and to reduce the amount of energy consumed within our manufacturing process,” said Dino Caparco, Yushin’s engineering operations manager. “We have also incorporated energy savings into our robots with eco-friendly options that allow the robots to reduce the amount of air consumed based on the specific task the robot is performing.”

Although the work can be challenging, Caparco feels the Yushin team can innovate and overcome any obstacle.

“I think the skills and experience of our employees give us an edge over our competition,” Caparco said. “Yushin has been able to help manufacturers in Rhode Island and across the world by supplying them with automation to keep their businesses growing. I am certain that our products have enabled them to maintain or increase output over the years.”


COVID-19 UPDATE

With a combination of local field representatives and online support resources, Yushin America has remained open while continuing to service its customers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including hand-delivering parts and fulfilling orders within one day.

“Manufacturers nationwide are working around the clock to provide medical supplies and products such as face masks, medical testing devices, medical packaging, plastic bottles and caps for disinfecting wipes and sprays,” said Mary Brennan, Yushin’s marketing communication specialist. “Yushin America has been fighting alongside its customers and providing them with robots and downstream equipment.”

With customers spread across the country and employees living in eight different states, Yushin has modified and/or restricted business travel and taken several preventative measures at its facility. Among them are including hand-sanitizing stations, disinfecting sprays and sanitizing wipes; regularly disinfecting restrooms, workstations and conference rooms; establishing visitor protocols; daily temperature screening; mandatory face masks; and practicing social distancing.

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