Lock Trade Veteran Senokuchi Opens Door to Japan's Market

Japan's lock-trade surplus indicative of

The Department of Industrial Technology (DIT) under Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, and the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC) held an event recently to help the lock making sector in Taiwan find opportunities in Japan. At the South STARS Project achievement presentation held Dec. 7-10, 2009 in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan and backed by the DIT and MIRDC, the LAT (Locks Association of Taiwan) invited Lockman Japan Co., Ltd. president Koji Senokuchi and his senior consultant Hiroshi Sujimoto to shed light on the Japanese market for locks, perhaps opening the door wider for Taiwan's makers to discover new niches.

Certainly a heavyweight in the line, Senokuchi has been dedicated to development and production of locks and security products for over three decades, and his company, Lockman Japan, established in 1980, has been seen as one of the leading lock and lock-making machine suppliers in the nation. Besides being an entrepreneur, Senokuchi is also a certified professional locksmith, with membership in the ALOA (Associated Locksmiths of America), which is “an international professional organization of highly qualified security professionals engaged in consulting, sales, installation and maintenance of locks, keys, safes, premises security, access controls, alarms, and other security related endeavors,” according to its online introduction.

The South STARS Project achievement presentation did not exactly tread virgin territory since Lockman Japan outsources Taiwanese lock manufacturers to supply a variety of key blanks, cylinders, padlocks, magnet locks, key card readers, surveillance cameras etc., whose quality, competitive prices and trustworthiness are impressive, according to Senokuchi. With IT (information technology)-based locks emerging globally as the latest trend, Senokuchi also looks to work with Taiwan's tech companies to explore the new segment.

Japan Lock Security Association

Frirst of all, Senokuchi introduced the Japanese counterpart to the LAT—the Japan Lock Security Association—which was inaugurated in 1998 and now boasts over 1,100 locksmiths and distributors as members and 40-plus lock manufacturers in Japan as sponsoring members. Similar to others in the line, the JLSA also provides technical and ethical education for members, indirectly procures materials for members, and hold activities with official agencies to raise public's awareness for anti-theft protection.

The Japanese lock trade veteran says that the JLSA will increase collaboration, opinion exchanges with the LAT, established on June 6, 2009 with a current membership of 70, and advise the LAT to achieve stable, sound development of the lock manufacturing and locksmith sectors in Taiwan.

Changing Demand

Demand for security products in Japan has changed significantly over the past 30 years, according to Senokuchi, adding that traditional cylinder locks had been the most common till the 1980s, after which integral locks have been accepted locally and vastly used in upscale homes since 1985. “Traditional cylinder locks, commanding only 20% of the Japanese market now, have been replaced by other more advanced, secure locks,” he adds.

With lock-making technologies progressing, he says, so-called type-case locks or rim locks, and laser steering-wheel-type case locks emerged in the 1990s and have been widely used by construction companies in various buildings. “Steering-wheel-type case lock remains mainstream in Japan's construction industry,” he says.

Improved cylinder locks with dimpled keys, including steering-wheel-type, push-pull locks and tamper-proof type-case locks with pickproof cylinders have also been popular with end-users in Japan since 2000 and are widely installed in automatic doors, according to Senokuchi. An interesting trend, especially in a nation generally known to be very safe, has been since 2002 rising crime and theft perpetrated by unethical locksmiths, with such events reported by media to trigger explosive demand for cylinder locks with dimpled keys and electric locks.

“So high-end, pickproof, tamper-proof locks have become hot-sellers in Japan,” Senokuchi says. “Although we are unhappy to see rising crime, this has actually fueled growth of the high-end cylinder lock segment, offsetting local lock manufacturers' declining sales due to the slowdown in construction.”

Meanwhile and with lock-making technology progressing and Personal Information Protection Laws being enforced, market demand for safer locks as electric locks, electromagnetic locks and security devices has also surged, he states. “But the Japanese market for locks is increasingly challenging for lock producers, as door makers and house builders have entered the high-end lock segment to scramble for a slice of the pie, especially when construction has stalled for a long time.”

Door Ajar for Taiwanese

Lockman Japan's senior consultant Sujimoto says that at present Japan imports more locks than it exports, indicative of potential room for foreign suppliers to do business. One niche is made available by the lack of Japanese makers turning out padlocks, cam locks and low-end locks, mainly because it is cost-inefficient to make such items in Japan relative to outsourcing overseas.

Besides, with sluggish demand in Japan for new homes, Japanese lock makers and locksmiths urge consumers to replace old locks with new ones or install more locks in to enhance security, which helps to spur end-user demand for new locks, according to Sujimoto.

However, Sujimoto stresses, imported locks and security devices must be CP certified to be sold in Japan. Established and managed by Japan's Metropolitan Police Department, CP certification requires quality and security characteristics on locks to measure up to such strict standards. “To be CP certified is not very difficult for Taiwanese makers with their strong production capability. A few Taiwan-made locks are already CP certified and popular in Japan,” he says.

Despite boasting excellent production capability, Sujimoto emphasizes, Taiwanese makers must try to reinforce cooperation with Japanese counterparts to build recognition for quality that is truly accepted by Japanese consumers. “This is imperative for there are still around half of locks and related products imported from Taiwan every year failing to meet local buyers' requirements. The reason is Japanese and Taiwanese see good quality and design differently,” he says.

Potential Exists

Sujimoto says it takes a long time to build shared awareness towards quality; but, given the willingness to increase mutual innovation and technology exchanges to strengthen core competency, Taiwanese suppliers can carve out niches in Japan and even globally. Showing confidence in Taiwanese lock makers, Senokuchi, having worked with Taiwanese subcontractors for 17 years, is still keenly interested in expanding such cooperation, according to Sujimoto.

Finally, Sujimoto suggests Taiwanese lock manufacturers choose Japanese distributors as partners when planning to do business in Japan, mainly to reduce making wrong marketing decisions, especially considering the mercurial market characteristics: for example functional locks and ones with aesthetic variety are more popular than standardized counterparts.