Decision made encouraged by Antonio Inoki’s words

I thought of quitting my previous job as a major general contractor one month after I became the youngest general manager at the age of 34. There have been various changes, and I was worried about how to make use of the time of my life meaningfully. I have been invited to change jobs by several major companies, but I was so passionate about the construction industry that I didn’t feel like going to other industries. Although I thought that “it would be better to do what I wanted to do honestly. I would like to try possibilities independently,” I was still worried about “What if I fail” and could not make the decision for about half a year.

That was when I happened to get a book called “Antonio Inoki Autobiography” at a bookstore. There was a poem called “Michi (Road)” that Antonio Inoki told his fans when he retired.

“Don’t fear what happens if you keep going on this road.
With fear, there will be no road.
If you give one step, the step becomes a road.
Go on without fear, then you will find out.”

It was as if it were a word directed at the wandering self. I was pushed on my back, saying, “I will not find out until I do it!” and I resigned three days later. If you don’t take a step, you can’t go to a new world. I had a lot of on-going work at the company, so I thought it would be impossible to think of an foundation plan if I didn’t quit first.

Starting up a company from a scratch!

My company foundation started from a scratch. My own savings were only 3 million yen, so I borrowed a total of 5 million yen, 200,000 yen each from 25 members of my high school and rugby team mates and research group colleagues. With the support of many others, I raised 12 million yen in total. I am truly grateful to those who helped me at that time. I will never forget it for the rest of my life.
The company’s name was decided to be “Fukuda and Partners”, with advice from a management who I still respect to this day. The company name has two meanings: “We want to be a true partner for our customers” and “Fukuda and partners traveling together”

At the time of starting the business, I contracted with lawyers and certified public accountants before hiring employees, and started with one employee. There were no borrowing from banks, and operation funds were only capital. The first office I rented had only three desks and a monthly rent to 30,000 yen. We have to make the best use of our knowledge and experience in construction and real estate to do everything with low cost as possible. Since we had few members and no money, we focused on creating logistics and commercial facilities which were our expertise and have few competitors, and concentrated on making the most of our strengths for our customers.

In the first three years, there were many situation where I thought I might not be able to pay salary within a few months. Every time I managed to overcome the hardship, I realized the importance of money and the appreciation of being able to do my job. Everyday was desperate, I had no time to worry about, and I worked almost 365 days without a day-off.
In order to meet the needs of our customers, we needed experts such as first-class architects. I believed that full line specialists in design, structure, facility, civil engineering, finance, and real estate is necessary for development and construction support, and aimed to create a system that helps our customers. Our unique “co-sourcing service” has evolved in the process of repeating trial and error and listening to, thinking about, and implementing customer opinions. At the same time, as a specialized partner for our customers, we worked diligently to resolve a number of issues in order to enhance our corporate value. This has resulted in the F&P Spirit of “One More Try!” and we have achieved unique results in the creation of logistics and commercial facilities.

Construction and real estate co-sourcing services specializing in logistics and commercial facilities

The term “co-sourcing” has been used since the second term. I agreed with what one manager taught me and what I wanted to do. Co-sourcing is a method of work in which contractors and contractors share and utilize each other’s management resources and business processes. Compared to outsourcing, which unilaterally outsources some of our operations, we are more closely involved with our customers and can contribute to increasing our corporate value as a specialized partner.
We operate a construction and real estate co-sourcing business that specializes in logistics and commercial facilities. Specialized real estate construction staff will take the customer’s point of view and realize “real estate development,” “construction plans,” and “business plans” in an optimal manner.
Specifically, we are acting on behalf of our customers in the Construction Department and the Real Estate Department, and are entrusted with project management (PJM) services for each project from the facility planning stage to the operation stage. Through these efforts, we will contribute to improving the efficiency and quality of our customers’ operations, reducing the cost of projects, making appropriate judgments, and enhancing our customers’ corporate value.

Challenge new business and growth in response to a wide range of customer needs

Looking back, there were ups and downs in our management, but as a result, our business performance has grown steadily. I think this is a result of the steady efforts of our employees. It is also the result of the company effort to build its own business model and continue to act without distorting our beliefs.
We have taken on the challenge of a new business format that is somewhat different from the conventional design office, consultants, and real estate companies. Although the industry is focused on logistics and commercial facilities, we are expanding our service areas to meet customer needs and providing services that can respond to various phases. To make it easier for customers to use, we can provide service by phase, such as only planning, as well as works to supplement the necessary functions, such as assessing and negotiating construction costs, negotiating rent, conducting surveys, and providing services only for tenant surveys.

In addition, we are able to provide service for the entire life cycle of buildings, including not only new construction but also repair and demolition. There are no other companies like this. We wanted to work together as a customer partner, and created a system that enables us to support every aspect of our business in line with the lifecycle of the building.
I am confident in the individual service that we have been doing. In fiscal year 2021, we ranked 2nd specialized in the sales of design and project management of logistics facilities. In the 20 years since the foundation, the construction floor space of logistics facility adds up to 222 million sqft. We also have plenty of experience in tenant leasing of logistics facilities, research into the creation of commercial facilities, and basic plans. I think that PJM (Project Management) is a unique operation that enables us to conduct real estate offices, which are upstream of facility building, as well as to work consistently from planning to design, supervision, and operation. Our strength lies in the ability to support most needs other than construction.

In 2007, when our business grew rapidly and got on track, I actually had an unexpected encounter one day. Antonio Inoki was sitting in front of me on the Shinkansen. I went up to him and told “I was pushed on my back by Mr. Inoki’s words and started a company. I’m doing my best now,” he said, and showed him the pamphlet of the company I had. I was happy to meet and thank him in person. Mr. Inoki was also pleased.

Aiming to reach the next stage as a company that is loved and trusted by customers

Co-sourcing requires a relationship that is recognized by customers as a true partner. We must constantly refine our expertise, continuously improve our services, and continue to evolve. The survival stated in the “On the origin of species” by Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” It is also said that “very small differences are critical factors for survival.”
I would like to provide valuable service that leads to innovation as we seriously think about how we can serve our customers, exert our skills, and act on it every day. The F&P spirit “One More Try!” is to express such motto and is also our password. We spare no effort to exert “one more try” for our customers at all times. Instead of saying “Can’t be done”, we ask “how can we make it work?” We tackle the problems again and again and look for better solution. Our attitude and efforts toward work with a spirit of accomplishment will lead to the creation of new value.

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, we made every effort to grasp the current status of the disaster on the following day and to recover it through emergency work and by all employees, in order to secure lifelines in the affected areas. The logistics and commercial facilities we handle are lifelines for people’s lives. If the facility can be restored and operated as soon as possible, food can be delivered to consumers as soon as possible. We believed that “contributing to the world is our mission,” and worked hard continuously. The target was 72 facilities and we received high praise from a large number of customers for our prompt response and network-based mobility. On the other hand, however, I wished more people knew about our functions, so that we could have helped more people.

In the future, we will take on the challenge of creating an infrastructure for co-sourcing services. In addition to pursuing services and expertise that are easy to use for as many people as possible, we will also work with area partners and external partners, including overseas, to grow in many areas so that we can demonstrate our mobility for as many customers as possible.

We will never forget of our thoughts at the time of founding that “Tomorrow will not come if we are useless to our customers”, and will continue to keep challenging,