Our Most Important Partner in Interior Decorative Color Development
Our Most Important Partner in Interior Decorative Color Development
It has been more than 15 years since we began our relationship with Musashi Paint. To date, they have supplied paints for interior decorative components for many vehicle models.
Our products are mainly “small cars,” including kei cars, so we cannot rely on premium materials. On the other hand, in order for our vehicles to be chosen not only as a means of daily transportation but also for business, outdoor leisure, and other purposes, as something closely integrated into everyday life, it is important not only to ensure practicality but also to highlight the individuality of each model.
At the time we first began requesting paint development, Musashi Paint was supplying paints with a variety of textures for relatively small products such as mobile phones. This coincided with a time when a diversity of textures was beginning to be demanded for small-car interiors, so in addition to developing paints that met our requirements, they also provided us with a wide range of insights, including color and texture trends in the small home appliance industry and production technology information. Since then, we have continued to work hand in hand on paint color development for each model, constantly updating products by incorporating new technologies and paint materials and addressing sustainability. Musashi Paint is an indispensable partner for us.
Global Supply Structure
Another reason Musashi Paint is an indispensable partner for us lies in its “global supply structure.”
The main production bases for our products are Japan, Hungary, Indonesia, and India, our largest market. Musashi Paint has paint manufacturing and supply bases in all of these regions.
Today, regardless of whether the country is developed or emerging, the same design quality, overall quality, and coating film properties are required at all production sites. In addition to paints, we locally procure almost all of the materials that make up our vehicles. (We refer to this as local production for local consumption.) As a result, we sometimes make requests such as “we want to use a paint color developed in Japan on vehicles produced in India” or “we want to produce, with the same quality, on domestically produced vehicles a paint color developed at our India base,” and Musashi Paint always responds perfectly. This responsiveness is Musashi Paint’s greatest strength for our company.
PROFILE
Joined Suzuki Motor Corporation in 1992. After working in interior design, color design, and as chief designer for India models, he is currently responsible for advanced element development for interior and exterior design in the CMF Design Section. Suzuki’s CMF design motto is “Genba, Genbutsu, Genjitsu” (site, actual item, reality).