February 2015
| Business World
71
CULTURAL
COLLABORATION
With operations spanning Japan, USA, Aus-
tralia and fabrication in the Philippines,
Ichijo’s corporate culture is growing. A look
at the numbers within their Asia division
proves how global - and vast - Ichijo is. There
are 3,200 employees working on both ends in
Japan and a staggering 12,000 employees in
the Philippines spread across the factory and
administration. A cultural melting pot, the
United States division’s numbers are small;
10 in total that includes everyone from de-
signers and project managers to marketing
and sales. Utilizing their resources effectively
and creatively, the team comes together to
unify under a common cause - the Ichijo phi-
losophy.
“Our culture here is a mix of Japanese and
American,” Tovel said. “We combine both
cultures and it’s a nice relationship and work-
ing environment. There’s a lot of innovation
and possibility to incorporate your own
ideas and getting your input in there since
we’re such a small company. The technology
is fun and exciting, especially for the Pacific
Northwest area.”
As the United States division picks up steam,
Ichijo is now building in Australia as well -
further expanding their cultural identity and
innovative product to more diverse markets
around the world.
THE FUTURE
As custom homes go, the ideal that build it
and they will come doesn’t always guaran-
tee success. But as Ichijo USA continues to
build and design homes their way, they re-
main focused on the quality, the products
and their energy efficient technologies as a
means to challenge convention, change the
minds of progressive yet conservative North
American home buyers and what it means to
live in a humble, happy and healthy home.
“One of the important topics that we talk
about in Japan is how to expand our busi-
ness in the United States,” Ohno said. “In
the next three to five years we’re planning to
reach 300 to 600 to even 1,000 homes per
year and are looking for new opportunities
in other states like Oregon and California.”
The evolution of the custom designed home
is here, and it may be coming to a city near
you.
