HOMEInterview: Shimabara Railway Co., Ltd.
"Acrylic calendar stand" that reproduces the popular spot station name sign along the company's line
- client
- Shimabara Railway Co., Ltd.Mr
- Craft and range
-
- acrylic calendar stand
- Processing method
-
- design design and production
- Laser processing
- Full color UV printing
- Purpose of use/application
-
- sales in stores
- Event product sales
- Sale on the website
- Delivery date
- 4 weeks
- Minimum lot
- 500~
- Quality standards
We would like to ask about the circumstances behind your request.
In the Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture, in addition to public transportation businesses such as railways, buses, and ferries, we also operate hotels, real estate, and rental businesses. We are also focusing on planning and sales.
This time, with the opening of the West Kyushu Shinkansen, we decided to plan the production of commemorative goods in order to get excited together with everyone along the line.
As a result of discussing what kind of product to make within the company, we decided that our line would be called Omisaki Station. There is a scenic spot, and I came up with the idea of making a calendar stand with the name of the station.
Our company aims to create a one-of-a-kind product that no one else has, so when we first checked to see if other companies were making similar products, we found that they hadn't made a calendar stand with a station name sign.
When it comes to product planning that is unique, there is no base product if you turn the other side, "Metal costs the cost of materials and processing costs..." "Plastic costs the mold production cost. As a result of considering all kinds of materials, such as the cost…”, we thought that if it was made of acrylic, we could make functional and fashionable products at low cost. I remembered and consulted immediately.
Are there any points you were particular about when commercializing the product, such as materials and design?
I didn't want it to be a cheap finish just because it's made from acrylic material.
For that reason, while I had a strong desire to be particular about creating a sense of realism and luxury, I was unsure as to how far the shape of the station name sign could be reproduced with acrylic.
However, the person in charge of your company listened to our requests in detail, minimizing the number of parts by making it an assembly type, and thinking about a design that would make the package compact. I woke up and made a prototype and sent it to me.
In addition, we were able to achieve specifications that enable both cost and quality, such as the ability to use matte-textured colored acrylic parts and glossy transparent acrylic parts.
When I saw the first prototype you sent me, I was very impressed because it was finished with such quality that it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was almost completed.
Therefore, it did not take much time to finish up to the final specifications, and we were able to commercialize it smoothly.
How was the reaction to the introduction?
When we sold acrylic calendar stands at train stations, online shops, events, etc., everyone was staring intently at the product, as it was a rare product that was rarely seen.
Customers who actually purchased the product also wrote on SNS that they could not use it because it was too good to be used, and the product seemed to be highly evaluated.
When making a brand new product that can be assembled, you also made an assembly manual that came with the product, which was helpful when we were assembling and verifying the prototype. I think that this has led to high evaluations.
By consulting with you this time, I learned that you can not only produce goods with your existing products, but also propose and design specifications that are close to the planning of our completely original products.
We are enthusiastic about planning and selling unconventional goods that are not bound by existing frameworks, so please feel free to consult with us again.
Contact us.
