In Yao City, Osaka, there are a large number of small factories underpinning the manufacturing in Japan. Expecting that new value will be created when the reliable skills of craftsmen and innovative artworks are combined, realizing a new encounter, Tomoyasuseisakusyo, which is headquartered in Yao City, will produce “courtyard stools and tables from lumber offcuts and scrap” in the Co-Design Challenge. An experience-based event includes a factory tour, so that visitors can enjoy “extraordinary experiences” as entertainment. The theme is “LIVE!SM: Life ferments.” The initiatives in the field of manufacturing will start.

　This project is led by the executive officer Yasuki Matsuo of Tomoyasuseisakusyo. The company used to manufacture screws, metallic curtain hooks, etc., but demand plummeted due to the influx of foreign products in the 2000s. Temporarily, the company concentrated on sale, but after overcoming the hardship, it returned to the starting point, manufacturing and selling original interior products by utilizing the technologies for processing iron and wood.

　Why does Matsuo, who is working for such a company, engage in regional development? After graduating from university, Matsuo joined Yao City Hall, worked in the Industrial Policy Division, etc., and launched the event “FactorISM,” which allows visitors to see the inside of a small factory, in 2020. He joined the company through a human connection in 2021, but continued to be involved in the project. At present, not only the companies in Yao City, but also 91 companies in Kadoma City, Sakai City, etc. are involved, and there are over 20,000 visitors.

　As Matsuo was familiar with the actual situation of small factories, he was interested in lumber offcuts and scrap produced during the manufacturing process. Recycling has advanced, but there is still a large amount of waste. On the other hand, the artists he became acquainted with through the event purchase lumber offcuts for their artworks. “It’s a shame. I’d like to find a method for bringing them together.” When he planned “a tour for seeing lumber offcuts” for artists, it was highly evaluated.

　Matsuo expected, “If craftsmanship and artists’ designing prowess are combined while utilizing lumber offcuts, value will be born from worthless materials.” So Matsuo chose the Expo, which attracts a lot of visitors from around the world, as the best opportunity to advertise the underlying strength of small factories. His motto since he became a government official is “putting my dream into work and my love into regional development.” Matsuo excels at bringing together people and producing new projects. Matsuo, who likes surprising people, feels excited, wishing “There are some concerns, but I’d like to endeavor to do something nobody else has done.”