Montbell's Manufacturing
Of course, the mountain climbing boom among middle-aged and elderly people is still going strong, perhaps due to a desire for spiritual healing in modern society, or an interest in health and ecology. It is no exaggeration to say that people's interest in nature and outdoor sports is at an all-time high across all generations.
Young women wearing colorful clothing enjoying trekking
However, the beauty of nature can also be extremely harsh on us. At such times, it is clothing and gear specifically designed for the outdoors that protects our lives and gives us moments of respite. Because lives are at stake, the performance requirements are far more stringent than those of the products we use in the city. They must not sacrifice functionality to withstand wind, rain, and cold, but must also be lighter, more compact, and, if possible, more comfortable. To achieve these contradictory goals, brands and manufacturers are constantly developing new materials and putting effort into sewing and design. Thanks to their unique functional beauty, outdoor gear has recently become accepted as a genre of fashion.
However, many outdoor sports originally originated in Europe and the US. So, are foreign brands still dominant? Well, that's not necessarily the case. In fact, there is a company in Osaka that Japan is proud of around the world. Its name is Montbell. It is one of the world's leading outdoor brands, offering everything related to outdoor sports, including mountain climbing, camping, canoeing, fishing, and cycling.
Montbell's manufacturing from a mountaineer's perspective
Montbell is one of Japan's leading outdoor brands, headquartered in Nishi-ku, Osaka. Montbell has long been a popular brand among outdoor enthusiasts, offering highly functional, reliable, and practical products at reasonable prices, based on a deep understanding of the outdoor field. Their products have also been highly praised overseas, and they have grown into a global brand, now expanding into the United States, Switzerland, Korea, China, Taiwan, Singapore, and more.
If you haven't seen one yet, we highly recommend you take a look at one of the 77 Montbell stores nationwide (as of March 2013). You'll be amazed at the variety and number of items lined up in the store. Jackets, underwear, shoes, backpacks, tents, cooking utensils, and more, all designed for outdoor fun. Just picking them up and imagining how you can use them will surely get your heart racing.
Inside the Montbell store: Staff with extensive product knowledge will assist you
But how on earth have all these products been produced? We spoke to Chairman Isamu Tatsuno, the founder of Montbell and a renowned mountaineer and adventurer himself.
From Mount Kongo to the North Face of the Eiger: The origins of manufacturing
Tatsuno was born into a family that owned a sushi restaurant in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture. His first step towards becoming a mountain climber and adventurer was Mount Kongo, which he often visited during his junior high school days. Unlike today, there were hardly any man-made structures, including ropeways, at the time, and he still remembers fondly the times he would take his friends from the neighborhood, pitch tents along streams, and cook meals in mess kits.
Isamu Tatsuno: Born in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture in 1947. He is also known as a canoeist who explores rivers around the world.
"I enjoyed walking where there was no path. Even back then, I was the type of person who didn't follow someone else, but would rather 'make a path after myself.'" Of course, there was no money for equipment, so "I took a sleeping bag made by sewing a blanket into a bag, and if I didn't have one, I used various ingenuity to make my own," and it seems that the experiences of that time were the starting point for Tatsuno's subsequent craftsmanship.
It was at the age of 16, still a high school student, that Tatsuno decided to seriously pursue a career in mountaineering. It was after he came across "The White Spider," a book written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer, which chronicles the first ascent of the famously difficult route up the north face of the Eiger in Switzerland. "I want to climb that too," Tatsuno thought, and he honed his climbing skills. Just six years later, in 1969, at the tender age of 21, he became the second Japanese person to ascend the north face of the Eiger. This made him the youngest person in the world to do so at the time. And behind this incredible achievement, it seems that Tatsuno was also devising his own equipment.
Tatsuno during the Hinterstoisser Traverse on the north face of the Eiger in 1969
"We had the latest gear from Europe at the time, but waterproof and breathable materials (*1) like today's Gore-Tex didn't exist yet. So we layered two water-repellent (*2) jackets (windbreakers). These were breathable so we didn't get stuffy, and even if the outer jacket got wet, there was still another layer underneath. After wearing it all day, if the water-repellent properties started to wear off, we could just bring on the outer layer (laughs)," says Tatsuno. At the same time, he was also mindful of making his gear lighter, and this spirit of always trying to improve things through ingenuity likely led to his later manufacturing at Montbell.
*1: A material that does not let water through but lets water vapor through, meaning it can protect against rain from the outside while allowing sweat from the body to evaporate, keeping the inside dry. It is used in rain gear and winter outerwear. In the mountains, getting wet increases the risk of freezing to death, so it is important to keep your clothes as dry as possible.
*2: Moisture-repelling performance on the fabric surface. Not waterproof.
An encounter with new fibers and the founding of Montbell
In fact, when Tatsuno was 16 and set his sights on climbing the north face of the Eiger, he also made another resolution at the same time. That was to start a business related to mountains at the age of 28. At the time, he was thinking about working as a mountain guide or selling mountaineering equipment, but an encounter he had while working at a textile trading company later became the direct catalyst for starting up what is now Montbell. This was the "new" synthetic fiber that he came to handle in the course of his work. "Take Kevlar and Nomex, developed by an American company called DuPont. Kevlar is strong enough to be used in bulletproof vests, and Nomex is a non-flammable fiber used in firefighting suits (*). I thought that if we used these materials, we could further improve mountaineering equipment. At the time, this kind of thinking was still rare."
True to his resolve at 16, at the age of 28 he quit his job at a textile trading company and founded Montbell in Osaka. "Osaka has always been the center of textiles. The headquarters of textile manufacturers are nearby, making it easy to communicate with developers. What's more, the Osaka merchant culture, which values rationality, suits me well." He bought a used Singer sewing machine and began making samples himself to put his ideas into practice.
The first sewing machine at the time of the company's founding: currently on display at the Montbell headquarters showroom
Based on his previous mountaineering experience, including climbing the north face of the Eiger, Tatsuno believed that if he could make his equipment lighter and move more quickly, he could achieve his goal more safely. Using new, functional materials, he wanted something lighter, more compact, and that would dry quickly even if it got wet - perhaps this was an idea unique to Japanese people, who are not blessed with the physiques of Westerners and who live in Japan, where the climate is rainy and humid. Later, Montbell's rain gear was greeted with astonishment in America, as there was no such "light" rain gear in the world at the time.
Early rain gear was met with surprise in America
*Montbell later introduced the world's first ultra-lightweight climbing helmet using Kevlar, and Nomex gloves.
"Making what is needed"- Montbell's manufacturing
"Our manufacturing always starts with 'what is needed, not what will sell,'" says Tatsuno. For example, the solar chargers he previously sold were inspired by his own experiences of hardship in Tibet and Nepal. There are surely people in the same situation, but he might not even be able to sell 100 units a year. Meanwhile, the minimum batch size is 2,000 units, meaning it would take 20 years to sell them all. "But the joy of being a manufacturer is being able to make them. The value of a product is not determined by the number of units sold. It's the fact that by making it, there are people who are helped. That's the origin of manufacturing."
This attitude has remained unchanged since Tatsuno founded Montbell on his own. Apparently, planning meetings are held several times a year, and anyone from any department can participate. This is because almost all Montbell employees are outdoor enthusiasts, and each has their own "wants." In fact, many of these have become hits, and when you look at a Montbell catalogue, where various ideas are lined up, it's easy to imagine this free-spirited corporate culture.
An internal planning meeting: Ideas born in the field are incorporated into products
Incidentally, the particularly unique "Nodate Set" in Montbell's lineup also stems from Tatsuno's playful spirit. "I thought, 'I've built a tea room at home, so I have to use it for tea making (laughs).'" So, thinking it would be nice to be able to brew tea in the mountains, he came up with the idea of a compact, portable set.
Outdoor tea set: Total weight 305g. It is said to be a popular souvenir for people from overseas.
I want to share the joy of nature
Of course, Tatsuno says that it's not just about making something and having it purchased. "Ultimately, I want to enjoy it together with people who love nature." Originally, he dreamed of becoming a mountain guide, and in 1970 he even founded Japan's first mountaineering school. "When you keep walking along the mountain path and eventually cross the pass, the look on the customer's face when they look out at the view that stretches out beyond... that's the best thing."
Thinking that his employees would surely like to do something this fun, he established an outdoor activities department called Montbell Outdoor Challenge. Currently, Montbell stores across the country have employees planning their own tours that they would like to take people on, and they hold them as needed. "From a business perspective, it's better not to do that, but it's important to think about what you want to do," he says. Despite being the chairman of a company with 1,200 employees, he still acts as a tour guide himself five to six times a year. He says that he has many repeat customers, and when he recruits, the spots fill up quickly.
The Montbell Outdoor Challenge will hold tours based at Montbell stores nationwide.
The number of people who support Montbell's stance continues to grow, and the number of members of the Montbell Club is soon approaching 400,000 (as of March 2013). "The annual membership fee for the Montbell Club is 1,500 yen. We have 400,000 'friends' who are willing to pay this. This is amazing. In a way, we consider this to be more important than the vote a politician receives from voters." A portion of the membership fees is actively used to contribute to society, such as supporting nature conservation activities and sports for the disabled, and more recently, supporting the recovery efforts following the Great East Japan Earthquake.
During the Great East Japan Earthquake, he used his outdoor experience to help with disaster relief activities.
Manufacturing continues
Thirty-eight years after its founding, Montbell now carries well over several thousand products. However, Tatsuno says there are still many more he wants to create. "For example, the other day I was impressed by a wood-burning stove that generates electricity. Products like this have the potential to change the way we live. This goes beyond the outdoor category, but I would like to think about creating products that will make the people of this country even a little happier. We currently have 400,000 friends who share this value. I secretly hope that when that number reaches one million or two million, something might change."
"From now on, awareness of nature will increase in other Asian countries as well. For that time to come, we would like Japan's nature and our style of living in harmony with it to serve as a model," says Tatsuno. It seems that Montbell's manufacturing will continue to spread.