In welcoming the 100th anniversary of its launch of operations and the 70th anniversary of incorporation, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has made a brand new start while looking forward to the new century.

At this point we should once again recall the labors of the company's many pioneers, beginning with founder Chubei Kobayashi. Since the company's founding in Nagoya and progression to the industrial center of Doshomachi, it is probably not an overstatement to say that the road to success has traversed more thorny mountain and valley paths than straight, flat roads.

However, the founders of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical were not merely pioneers at Kobayashi, but pioneers in the industry as well. With barely time to breathe, each continuously demonstrated the spirit of challenge, garnered shining successes, and were constant movers and shakers in the industry.

If the past 100 years are any measure, our current employees are the youngest newcomers to stand in line at the end of that history. But when discussing the 100 years to come, we must not forget that these present-day employees are also pioneers. And as those who have assumed the responsibility for the next century, they must demonstrate enough of their own spirit of challenge if they want to surpass their predecessors.

It is not an easy task at this point to tread the path toward the future, for a wide road and favored environment are not necessarily laid out before them. No, the prospect is rather that the road may indeed be as rough as the one 100 years ago. Competition in the industry is intense, the needs of consumers are diverse, and the trend toward total control of medical expenses is strong.

The time when all men can paint a rosy future is already past. Not only in the medical supply distribution industry but in all fields, dying organizations are deviating from the standard path in order to survive. Momentary inattention is unforgiving, and it has become difficult for companies that fail to progress to survive. Our industry is not an exception. Rather, it may be said that competition in this industry is far more intense compared with that of other industries.

In addition to its century of traditions, achievements, and trust, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is fortunate to be blessed with an abundance of employees possessing a marvelous, inexhaustible appetite for work and a solid sense of teamwork. Furthermore, our rich and talented workforce prizes its 100-year history more than anything else.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has developed a succession of hit products, and our manufacturing departments occupy a steadfast place in the industry. Dashing forward in a vehicle borne on the wheels of manufacturing and sales, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has full power to travel the rough roads ahead. Kobayashi is endowed with the strength to march toward the new century.

The role played by the business departments in the past was certainly large. However, in order to expand its future fully, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical must become a stronger elite group. The strategy for that has already been determined. What is required is having firm convictions and stepping forward.

I have stood up and taken the lead of this elite group steeped in tradition over the last 100 years, faced the coming century, and gladly begun the offensive. (Yutaka Kobayashi)