NYK Celebrates Its 131st Anniversary
NYK president Tadaaki Naito marked the 131st anniversary of NYK’s founding by addressing company employees at the NYK head office in Tokyo on October 3. He encouraged employees to demonstrate courage and conviction for change in a new era.
"NYK Group has been making progress up to the present day by applying the group’s creativity and ingenuity in pursuit of its own distinct path. While we, too, have our own strengths and weaknesses, we have also been highly attuned to the changing times and shifting needs of customers," he said.
There are also formidable rivals in the shipping industry competing against the NYK Group. "We also must beat out new players from emerging countries, which are likely to rapidly grow more competitive in the future. Furthermore, as the spread of the Internet completely transforms peoples’ lives and best practices in the industry, we will have to square off against new competition from other industries, such as the IT industry. Therefore, it goes without saying that more than ever before, we must be on guard, refine our creativity and ingenuity, and differentiate our businesses and services,"noted Tadaaki.
The world’s population is forecast to steadily increase from the current level of about seven billion to almost 10 billion by 2050. A growing population means more international shipments of energy, food, and all kinds of other cargo.
By transporting cargo, we provide a source of stability for the global community, and engage in work that helps people around the world pursue their dreams of happiness and prosperity. But the path to realizing dreams is very steep, with many bumps along the way, we may need to carry out reforms, which could be painful at times, in order to ensure the future growth of the NYK Group.
Recognizing that everyone including me feels anxious about trying new ways or making changes, we need to be bold enough to implement them, he said. To “overcome the raging seas” of today, let’s set a course for a brighter tomorrow and adapt the NYK Group to the days ahead with both courage and conviction.
