TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION CENTER

--What, specifically, makes product development at TIC so interesting?

Ono: The biggest difference is the timeline, that is, the time horizon. In ordinary product development, much of the work is focused on reliably delivering value to the customers in front of us: finishing next fiscal year's products or responding to market needs for existing products. At TIC, the appeal is that we can work while looking one or two steps further into the future.

Yamanoi: But advanced technology alone does not make a business, and conversely, simply extending what we already have will not create the new value that will be needed 10 years from now. How do we create differentiated products at TIC with commercialization in mind, products that only TIC can make? That is the hardest part, and also the most interesting.

Engineers themselves lead product planning, go into the market, and decide what to develop. I don't think there are many development organizations like this.

--For prospective hires, who they will work with and what the workplace is like are also important. How would you describe the atmosphere in your groups?

Kadowaki: Because we are a small group, I can clearly see younger members grow year by year, and I can feel the range of development themes the group can handle expanding. "Last year we could only go this far, but this year we were able to add even more themes." Their growth directly increases the capability of the group as a whole. As a group leader, I find that deeply rewarding.

Ono: Our younger members are not afraid to take on new things. They bring momentum and energize the whole group. Of course, we sometimes need to give them a little support in choosing the right direction, but they have tremendous room to grow, and I feel we are becoming an even stronger team.

Yamanoi: Both the number of people and the number of development themes are increasing, and I think the younger members themselves can feel their own growth day by day. That sense of momentum and energy is a major attraction at TIC. That is exactly why we want people with strong passion to join us. We want to work with people who can put what they want to do and their dreams into their own words, communicate them to others, bring people with them, and move forward together.

--What would you like to achieve five or 10 years from now?

Yamanoi: In commercial products, I want to develop products that raise the value of the building itself. I want us to anticipate latent needs that customers themselves may not yet recognize, and prepare proposals before those needs become obvious. Twenty or 30 years ago, it was normal for a home to have just one air conditioner in the living room. Today, air conditioning has become indispensable in every room. In the same way, I want to create new value that is not simply an extension of what exists today, value that will become the norm 10 years from now.

Ono: In residential products, we have to think about differentiated products while understanding the lifestyles and cultures of each global market, as well as comfort and energy efficiency in the home. Looking five or 10 years ahead, I think solution development that combines the basic functions of air conditioning with control systems such as AI will become mainstream.

That said, I am a mechanical engineer at heart, so I want to build next-generation hardware with my own hands, hardware that works in harmony with these cutting-edge control technologies to create new added value. And I want to roll out the innovative products we develop globally, not just within Japan. Since coming to TIC, I have had more opportunities to work with overseas locations. Daikin has strong development and sales networks around the world. Being able to bring the unfiltered voices of local markets into development is a major advantage.

Kadowaki: In the heating and hot water supply area, our current business is concentrated mainly in residential applications in Europe. Going forward, we want to expand this into larger markets, including commercial and industrial applications such as apartment buildings and heat-source systems for factories.

A defining feature of our Heating and Hot Water Supply Systems Group is that we work with water rather than air. Our equipment is not restricted to labels such as residential or commercial. Water-based equipment has to be considered together with installation, construction work, and operation after startup. Today, our main scope extends through product sales and delivery. In the future, I want to create a system that can provide integrated support across the lifecycle, including operational services and maintenance after equipment has been installed and begins running.

Facilitator: Air, water, buildings, AI, controls, construction, and services, product development at TIC brings together a remarkably broad range of expertise.

Kadowaki: Exactly. Expertise from people with diverse backgrounds, mechanical engineering, controls, thermal engineering, water systems, architecture, building systems, and construction, can all make a difference. I think it is a very interesting environment for people who can build on their own specialty while collaborating with others to expand it into new value.

--Finally, what kind of people would you like to work with? And what message would you like to give them?

Kadowaki: Our organization is always expected to think broadly and expand possibilities. In the heating and hot water area, we need a broad perspective that includes not only air-conditioning equipment itself, but buildings, installation, operation, and services. That means expertise from a wide range of backgrounds, mechanical engineering, controls, thermal engineering, water systems, architecture, building systems, and construction, can contribute. I would like to work with people who have a strong specialty of their own and can collaborate with those around them to turn it into new value.

Yamanoi: First, someone with a strong desire to change things and take on challenges. A product can never be completed with only one technology. It becomes a product only after we coordinate multiple technologies and solve problems one by one.

That is why it is important to communicate your own conviction to those around you, gain their understanding, and bring people with you. We want people who can work side by side with users, sales teams, and engineers, and see the challenge through to the end.

Ono: This is a place where teamwork is essential. We develop as one team not only within TIC but also with our locations around the world. For those with the spirit to create new value on a higher level by their own hands, something beyond a simple extension of what already exists, and who enjoy building something big as a team, I can't think of a better place than TIC.

Facilitator: From research to products, from products to markets, and from markets to value for society. Product development at TIC is work that allows engineers to deepen their own expertise while delivering value to lives and industries around the world. Thank you very much for joining us today.

What distinguishes product development at TIC is not simply the creation of new technologies, but the fact that engineers themselves continue thinking about which markets a technology should serve, what user problems it can solve, and how it can grow into a business. That creates opportunities for people who want to deepen their research, for those who want to bring technologies to the world as products, and for those who want to take on major development themes with colleagues from different fields. The words of these three engineers reveal the breadth of career possibilities available at TIC.