On Sunday March 15, 2015, Kyokuyo Shipyard Corporation conducted a "Family Plant Tour" special event, for which families of its employees were invited to come and see where their family member works and learn what they do.

47 people from 12 families, chosen by lot out of more than 70 applicants, gathered at 9:00 a.m. at a seminar room. The event started with the president's "welcome and thanks" speech, followed by a brief presentations of the company and on how a ship was built. Presentation tools were created by young employees for this day.

After a question and answer session, the participants were kindly invited to the factory. All the kids were stunned, of course, by the scale of cranes and other facilities. When they were guided inside of a almost-completed new ship, they were soooo excited to see its engine room, accommodation and control rooms!

The main event of the day however was the "mock" naming and delivery ceremonies carried out on the main deck of the ship. They took place exactly in the same way as the "real" ones, with confetti, a bottle of champagne, and decorative banners, except that the vessel was not owned by the mock owner, who was actually one of our employees, Soichiro of Production Division, chosen by lot (again) to play the role. Undoubtedly he was lucky these days, as it was also him who appeared on the cover page of the city newsletter.

Naturally, his beloved wife was nominated as sponsor and she named the ship "Miri & Haruki" after their 2 children, who looked extremely happy. The cord-cutting, which was done with helping hands from the children, made the whole family even happier. In the "flag-exchanging ceremony", which symbolized the ownership transfer, Kyokuyo's company flag was replaced by the "family flag" featuring a family portrait photo!

Believing that the attempt was a big success, the company is planning to repeat 2 more "Family Plant Tour" events within this year. Hey, those who were not lucky enough to participate this time, you still have 2 chances to become a shipowner (for 3 hours) and see your spouse stand in the spotlight!

We would like to thank the (real) shipowner, TVL Marine (HK) Co., Limited, for their kind understanding to allow this event held onboard.

[2015/04/05]