The Feintool Group, based in Lyss, Switzerland, is a leading technology and systems provider in fineblank-ing, forming and assembly, and automation. It is also an important supplier of metal and plastic components.

“I think it was a good idea to go to Japan so early,” says Boesch. “In Japan you have to earn the respect and have patience as a foreign company to be accepted by local Japanese companies. We have now been supplying this market for 40 years and we are happily accepted and well established by the industry in Japan.”

One of the main applications of Feintool`s fineblanking technology, including engineering, presses and tools, has been brought to Japan for the automotive industry also. The company linked up with the automotive industry to develop the first ever seat recliners. Today, nearly all vehicles worldwide use Feintool technology in its seat recliners.

Boesch believes the Feintool partnership with the automotive industry in Japan is reliable for growth. Its high-profile customers, like Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda, use Feintool‘s fineblanked and formed parts in gearboxes, engines, brakes, seatbelts, seat adjusters, air conditioning, and oil pumps.

Boesch regards high level service as a main customer need, especially in Japan. He finds service in Japan to be top notch himself, “I never once missed a message in a Japanese hotel,” he says.

Not unlike the service Boesch has received while visiting Japan, Feintool not only tailors parts to customers needs but is also focused on remaining a dependable partner to its clients. Boesch notes, “Our service engineer in Japan sleeps with his mobile phone, providing 24 hour service if needed.”

Feintool, a worldwide technology leader, boasts a 65 percent global market share in fineblanking presses and a 40 percent market share for this segment in Japan.

Since competition in Japan is particularly fierce, Feintool is seeking new ways to diversify its applications such as with its new products for the medical, optical, leisure and sports instruments industries. In fact, mostly all the parts of the famous Swiss knives of Victorinox and Wenger are made with Feintool fineblanking presses and tools.