Challenging the conventional wisdom of the thermal insulation industry. Sasaki Thermal Insulation Industry's second-generation president takes on the challenge of innovation in "business and human resources."

Sasaki Thermal Insulation Industry Co., Ltd., headquartered in Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, is a group of professionals that has built a reputation for reliable quality and trust in the Tokai and Koshinetsu regions since its founding in 1980, specializing in "thermal insulation, thermal insulation, and heat insulation construction" for piping in a wide variety of large facilities, including department stores, large retail stores, factories, government facilities, and school gymnasiums.
Thermal insulation work is an industry where the skill is highly dependent on the individual, as it requires skilled workers to manually cut insulation materials to the millimeter on-site to match the shape of the pipes and the complexity of the site, and then wrap them properly. The reliable intuition and experience of veterans determine the quality of the work, so the smooth transfer of skills to younger generations and the realization of "work style reforms" (correction of long working hours and shortening of construction periods), which are being called for throughout the construction industry, have been major challenges for the entire industry.
The second-generation president, who has a background as a systems engineer (a programmer), logically analyzed this traditional, analog flow of pipe insulation construction and had a strong sense of urgency and advanced ideas that "it should be possible to systematize and industrialize it further." In fact, he has made significant investments in the company's own factory and introduced automated processing equipment that pre-cuts (pre-processes) pipes based on pipe data, ahead of other companies in Japan, thus establishing a system to standardize the quality and speed of construction work on site.
However, the president's mind was overflowing with "next-generation business ideas that will revolutionize the industry" and "visions for the future (such as BIM utilization and digital technology transfer)," but these were so advanced and constantly evolving that they remained tacit knowledge and could not be organized into words or diagrams within the company. This led to a missed opportunity: the company was unable to logically communicate its true strengths to society.

Lionheart's initial role was to "organize and structure" the president's excellent logical thinking and boundless ideas for the future through thorough dialogue (brainstorming). The key strategic point was how to connect the two values of "Sasaki Thermal Insulation Industry's history" as a group of craftsmen who value tradition, and "innovation in the digital age" envisioned by the president.

• Assigning meaning to the logo (CI definition): In contrast to its existing logo, which had been familiar for many years and featured the letter "S" and "three lines," Lionheart has newly defined three keywords: "deepening, true value, and evolution." By redefining its symbol mark to reflect its commitment to "deepening" traditional techniques, "achieving true value" with new technologies, and "evolving" towards the future, the company has established a brand "core" that the president can connect with the company's roots and future, and that can be spoken of with firm pride both inside and outside the company.
• Formulation of a new business "BEYOND (Beyond the temperature (on-degree))"The "BEYOND" brand project goes beyond simply making a technical appeal by "selling pre-cut insulation materials in-house." It plots the benefits this brings to customer subcontractors (shorter construction periods and reduced labor costs) and simultaneously achieves a groundbreaking innovation that reforms the working style of our own craftsmen.
• Concept design for recruiting young talent: "Thermock Innovators"To overturn the traditional image of construction workers as "tough, dirty, and dangerous," we defined a new recruitment concept: "Become a Thermoc Innovator," a next-generation professional who will challenge industry norms by controlling the properties of piping and heat digitally and using our own production lines. We have built a recruitment strategy that emphasizes the joy of innovation—innovating technology and evolving oneself.

To bring their articulated methodology strategy to life, Lionheart handled everything from a complete redesign of their corporate website to B2B sales brochures, spatial design, and the construction of a recruitment website for new graduates and young professionals.

• Corporate website completely redesigned: We've completely revamped our website to intuitively convey a sense of corporate reliability and smartness, incorporating advanced technology and a sophisticated worldview befitting a professional group, going beyond simply being an "insulation company." Business tools such as business cards, envelopes, and various stationery items have also been uniformly refreshed to match the new visual identity.
• Production of the "BEYOND" project brochure: We created a specialized brochure that logically and intuitively illustrates how the introduction of pre-cut processing technology brings "shorter construction periods" and "more consistent quality" to our subcontractor clients. It was designed as a presentation material that sales representatives could carry around and use directly as a script for their sales pitches.
• Building a website for recruiting new graduates at "Thermock Innovator"Moving away from the traditional apprenticeship system where one learns by watching others, we are promoting a "next-generation learning environment where anyone can become independent" by making full use of video manuals and digital data. With a strong focus on the perspectives of young people and high school students, we have implemented a sophisticated recruitment design that symbolically represents the "axe of technology (a weapon that carves out the future)" that we hone in-house.

• Qualitative outcomes (evolution of motivation and relationships)Through this project, I have built a relationship of trust with Lionheart, acting as a "brainstorming partner (behind-the-scenes strategist)" for the second-generation president. By functioning as the "creative design department of Sasaki Thermal Insulation Industry," and proactively organizing and outputting the president's vision for the next generation, we have also contributed to accelerating the business.
• Establishing internal branding: The philosophy of "deepening, true value, and evolution" embodied in the logo, and the shared identity of "thermock innovator" in recruitment, have been articulated. As a result, internal recruiters and veteran and junior staff members can now speak outside the company with pride and confidence about the innovative nature of the work they are doing, leading to improved engagement throughout the organization.
• Proactive support going forward: To further accelerate the success of the pre-cut processing project, Lionheart will continue to proactively support the "next innovation" in the thermal insulation industry envisioned by the president, with the power of creativity and design. This includes adapting to new materials, strengthening the high-precision pre-drawing system through on-site 3D point cloud data and BIM (Building Information Modeling) integration, and promoting digital learning for young innovators (creating construction manuals by analyzing videos). As a partner in shaping the future together, we will continue to walk alongside the company.