Fuserashi International Technology (F.I.T.) makes steel parts for cars that most of us will never see. The parts they produce hold the car together and are generally made of steel. F.I.T. has been recognized for their commitment to quality every year for the last 25 years! Parts are made using a process called cold forming where instead of heating metal and making the steel soft, the material remains cold and is put under high pressure to create the shape needed.

In 1933, Mamoru Shimada’s grandfather started making fasteners from his home in Japan. The machines were very basic and required a lot of manual help including running them with a foot pedal. Over time, he built the headquarters in Osaka City, Japan. Since then, Fuserashi Ltd. has expanded adding plants in Gunma, Kyushu, and Mie in Japan, Ningbo Changhua China, Raydong Thailand, and Valley City Ohio in the United States.

Supply chain interruptions are a serious concern right now. There is a drought in Panama which means there isn’t enough water for boats to go through the Panama Canal. They have to go around the bottom of South America which adds time to their journey. In the other direction, there are pirates around the Suez Canal in Egypt which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea so ships are having a hard time going that way. They are going around the bottom of Africa which adds time there. Because the ships are delayed, there are not shipping containers available to take goods away and we cannot receive materials. 

We are also having challenges finding people to take our entry level positions. These jobs are great for people just getting out of high school and give them a great start on making money and learning about what they want to do as a career. 

80% of the steel we use is made in the United States. 20% of what we need to make parts isn’t made in the US and we import because it is a special type of steel that nobody in America produces, but is stronger and required by the automotive industry. Our customers are all over the world – we ship to Canada and Mexico, Japan, China, Korea, Poland, and Argentina right now.

We are ISO 14001 certified which means we have a big focus on being a sustainable company. That means we are constantly working to minimize our impact on the environment through cutting down waste, recycling what we do use, and reusing anything we can. It also means we comply with all legal requirements. And we have a plan in place throughout the whole organization regarding environmental goals. 

We have had the opportunity to provide tours to many of our local, state, and federal representatives. At the beginning of the pandemic we met with our Anthony Gonzalez, who represented our area in the Federal House of Representatives to talk about supply chain issues we were having at the time. He had been unaware of the problems so we were able to educate him and he went into the next session able to talk specifically about our challenges. We’ve also recently had the honor of meeting with Congressman Max Miller, who visited with us to learn more about the challenges of the manufacturing industry. He is also a huge supporter, as are we, of promoting career technical education. 

We list our openings on our website as well as working with our local hiring partners. But our best candidates come from referrals. Our current team recognizes what a great place this is to work and they tell their friends to join us. It is a great compliment and those referrals tend to be our best employees!

Why do you like working here?

Our culture is centered around details and quality. That applies to both the parts that we make, and the care we take of our people. Our culture across all our locations centers around taking care of people and making sure they have what they need to be successful. We are small enough our management team can meet with each associate and get their feedback, but large enough to have great benefits and strong programs to support them.