On April 25 a ceremony was held to celebrate completion of the plant of Polyplastics (Nantong) Ltd., our newly established compound production base in China, located in the Nantong Economic and Technology Development Area , Jiangsu Province. This is the Polyplastics Group’s fourth compound base and is expected to become a very important production base that will be able to meet the local procurement needs of the growing market for compound products in China. The ceremony marks a long-awaited day from an economic standpoint as well, because we have many hopes for expanding the Polyplastics business, including developing new demand, in China.
The local staff in Nantong, members of Polyplastics (Shanghai) Ltd., and public relations staff members at the head office held many meetings to thoroughly prepare for the completion ceremony. In this article we report on the completion ceremony and the celebratory luncheon party held after the ceremony.
It didn’t rain on the day of the ceremony as everyone worried that it would. The weather was fine and preparations begun early in the morning went forward smoothly. Preparations were completed down to the last detail, including a red carpet spread from the plant entrance to the compound factory to welcome the guests. The large number of bright red decorations provided for the day of the ceremony created a festive mood throughout the entire plant. There was a strong wind that day, but the streams of decorative balloons that rode on the wind seemed to suggest that our PNL compound plant would get off to a good start.
Guest reception was scheduled for 9:30, but many guests arrived early and spent the time viewing the panels introducing the company that were displayed along the red-carpeted passage to the venue. The panels contained a description of the company, the corporate philosophy, CSR activities, and activities carried out in the Nantong area for the 50th anniversary project.
The completion ceremony began with a dramatic Japanese drum performance. The ceremony was attended by about one-hundred guests including top officials of the Nantong Economic and Technology Development Area (NETDA) and representatives from customer companies. President and CEO Noboru Goto gave the opening address in which he explained the sequence of events leading to Polyplastics’ business activities in Nantong, expressed gratitude to everyone involved in the establishment of PNL, and outlined his aspirations for the company’s future. This was followed by words of congratulations by Mr.Qiang qiang from the NETDA and Mr.Tan yun from Mitsui Kinzoku Act (Shanghai) Management Co., Ltd. Words of greeting were also given by Mr.Tsutomu Konaka, representative director and president of Sumitomo Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd., which provided a great amount of support for design and construction of the plant.
After the ceremony ended the guests divided into 4 groups to tour the new plant. All of the guests viewed the compound facility with great interest and many asked questions of the staff members who conducted the tour.
After the plant tour, everyone moved to a hotel where a celebratory luncheon was held. The luncheon party started with a toast led by Managing Executive Officer Haruyasu Itoh. Performances of Chinese folk music, henmen (literally “face change,” a traditional Chinese dance in which the dancer instantly changes faces by switching masks), and other traditional performing arts were given on a stage placed in the party venue, enhancing the celebratory mood. Participants sat around the tables laid with a variety of delicious food getting to know each other better as they talked and exchanged information. It was a very meaningful time for everyone.
After seeing off the guests, a commemorative photo was taken of the whole group of staff members whose hard work made a great success of the memorable completion ceremony. Then the group gave a hearty cheer for the future success of Polyplastics (Nantong) Ltd. in China.
