Bold but Prudent

Teruyuki Yamazaki, chairman of Mazak Corp., believes aggressive business activity towards internationalization and automation were key factors to Mazak’s success. At IMTS 2010, I had the honor and pleasure to spend some time talking with Teruyuki (Terry) Yamazaki, chairman of Mazak, about his company’s success and the future of the machine tool industry.

At age 82, Mr. Yamazaki is still filled with the passion and ambition of a 25 year old executive seeking to take the market by storm. He is quick to point out that every business must establish lofty goals and objectives. In addition, Mr. Yamazaki also warns that success does not happen overnight. It takes a vision, and a plan to achieve that vision. Furthermore, it takes a strong work ethic and determination.

For Mr. Yamazaki, that vision started shortly after WW II when he was a young man and started in business with his father. Since Japan was not permitted to build new machine tools after the war, Mr. Yamazaki, along with his late father, Sadakichi Yamazaki, started acquiring worn-out and heavily damaged machines used during the war with the intent of rebuilding them.

Mr. Yamazaki became intrigued with the overhaul business and developed an admiration for machine tools built in Europe and the United States. Not afraid to get his hands dirty, he worked long hours to become familiar with these machines and restore them to their original condition. He will tell you that he learned, firsthand, that top quality machines could always be restored back to their original quality whereas lower quality machines could not.

There is no doubt that his experience in the restoration of used machine tools became the catalyst for him to develop and build new machine tools. Mr. Yamazaki admits that his experience in the overhauling of used equipment taught him that building quality machines must begin at the design level and carry through every stage of production. His experience in the overhaul business also instilled in him a core belief that only self-developed technology would lead to success and expansion in the machine tool industry. Today, this core belief is evident in multi-tasking machines, such as the INTEGREX, where the phrase Done in One has become synonymous with Mazak. In fact, a look back over the introduction of Mazak products like the Mazatrol Fusion 640 CNC, Variaxis, Hypersonic 1400L, and the Nexus product range all began with in-house R&D.

Throughout his career, Mr. Yamazaki has displayed a cautious, yet determined, mindset to succeed. If he has misgivings during the course of a discussion, he does not move on to the next subject until every point has been cleared up and he fully understands. He admits that some people criticize him as being too meticulous and bold. However, he sees nothing wrong with this and over the years has become fond of the expression “bold but prudent.” Furthermore, he believes this must be the prevalent attitude for managing a successful company.

In fact, back in the early 1960s, it was this very attitude that brought Mazak into the international market, well before any other Japanese machine tool builder. No one in Japan believed a Japanese machine tool builder could export its machines to the U.S. However, Mr. Yamazaki’s bold but prudent attitude dispelled those beliefs. Japan had fallen into a deep recession, and Mazak was on the verge of going under. Believing in his company and its ability to build quality machine tools, Mr. Yamazaki made a trip to the U.S. and negotiated a deal with a distributor for 200 lathes. Agreeing to more than 30 specification changes created a challenge for Mr. Yamazaki and his employees. However, believing then, as he does today, that no matter how difficult the situation an individual is placed in, that individual must always consider a view of the future. It was this bold but prudent determination that brought international recognition and credibility to the Mazak name, which eventually led to the building of the Florence, KY, plant to meet local production requirements.

There is however another side to Mr. Yamazaki. With all the success he has achieved over the years, he remains a very humble, gracious, and thankful person. Throughout the years and under the leadership of Terry Yamazaki, Mazak has received numerous awards. Some of the most prestigious awards include: The Order of Leopold by the King of Belgium, Queen’s Award for Enterprise, Order of the Rising Sun, Phillip B. Crosby Global Competition Award, and the Okouchi Memorial Foundation Award for Production. Yet, it is not Mr. Yamazaki’s style to boost of these awards. He never forgets his employees and the roles that they played in making those awards possible, and he is certain to give credit to his entire organization when receiving such recognition.

He is also an avid art collector. His collection includes original pieces by such names as Bonnard, Marquet, Rouault, Picasso, and others. The paintings are now housed in the Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Art. In addition to his art collection, Mr. Yamazaki maintains a collection of sculptures which include more than a dozen works by Rodin. Yes, “The Thinker” is one of them.

Mr. Yamazaki is definite proof of the adage: Once you get the machine tool industry in your blood, it is there to stay. He has been at the helm of Mazak since the death of his father in 1962. He passed the presidency of Mazak on to his son, Tomohisa, in 2001. However, Mr. Yamazaki says he is still full of passion and not yet ready to retire. So, when Tomohisa was named president, Teruyuki became chairman.

Known as a great innovator of Japanese NC machine tools, and credited for developing NC machine tools in an international marketplace, Mr. Yamazaki has been referred to as the father of advanced manufacturing technology and credited with the development of the machine tool industry of Japan.

Mr. Yamazaki is truly a living legend in the machine tool industry and, thanks to his work and efforts, the machine tool industry will forever change with continuing advancements in production equipment.