We would like to introduce you to Kenichi Ohchi, General Sales Manager of Ohchi Nursery Ltd, a Japanese producer of more than 1800 references of dried and preserved plants. His background away from the family business has led him to innovate and shift boundaries to promote the grandeur and beauty of nature. Discover his background, his commitments and his vision of the preserved flowers industry in this interview.
Secondnatur: Hi Kenichi. Would you please Introduce yourself telling us about your education and professional background ?
Kenichi Ohchi: I grew up in tamba-city, Hyogo-pre in Japan where you can find our factory. Each season, this place in Japan is displaying the diversity of plants and the beauty of nature.
I was interested in literature and education. So I graduated old Japanese literature at university in Kyoto. However, I still had in mind my family’s business. So I joined to help taking care of our growing business, which is preserved and dried flowers.
S.N.: How would you describe Earth Matters’ story in a few words?
K.O.: Earth Matters is the corporate brand name of our company: Ohchi Nursery Ltd.. My grandfather founded it 58 years ago. He developed the technique of bleaching one plant called “Yamashida” (Dicranopteris Linearis) by himself. It’s a common plant growing naturally anywhere near our company, and no one have ever been interested in it. This product became the identity and foundation of the company, and has continued to sell until now, and used in ‘Ikebana’ (Japanese flower design).
We set up these goals as our company’s state of mind: ‘finding the nature’ and ‘Never giving up developing the technique by ourselves’. For 58 years, we never stopped developing the technique of making dried and preserved flowers. We currently have 900 stock keeping unit (SKU) items of dried flower and 700 SKU items of preserved flowers and plants.
Initially, it started only as a family-sized business. Today we are 200 persons in the company and with the same state of mind !
S.N.: What is your function in the company today and for how many years ?
K.O.: I have been working here for almost 16 years, since I graduated at the University. During my first 10 years, I was in charge of Development Department, which consist in finding new materials, studying how to cultivate them properly and giving them the greatest life span. I also worked in import department, travelling in different countries finding the best raw materials to meet our costumer’s needs. For the last 6 years, I’ve been the Global Sales Manager of the company.
S.N.: What importance do you give to the ecological side of preserving plants?
K.O.: Our company is only using natural materials. We are proud to present ourselves as ‘Earth friendly’, because our manufacturing process do cherishes the cycle of nature. Not only to protect the environment because of regulation, but also because we want to grow alongside with the environment that surrounds us. We pay close attention to the water used by our manufacturing process and we have our own wastewater treatment facility. In returning the water back to nature, we attain a much cleaner filtration level than the required standards. We never forget to thank the nature around us from which we learn so much.
S.N.: What is, according to you, the reason of the success of stabilized flowers and plants in Japan and in the world ?
K.O.: Preserving and drying our materials, the textures, shapes, and colours are maintained for many years. Thus, we can ship it anywhere and anytime without the risk of spoiling it in their delivery stages. Because our product last longer, you are able to use it according to your own pace, designs, and inspirations. In Japan, our sales are growing every year. People here express their emotions by arranging stabilized flowers and their expression lasts in time. Each country in the world have its own amazing idealistic designs, and we are expecting our products to embrace international markets.
S.N.: What is your favourite fresh flower? Stabilized?
K.O.: Each flower has its characteristics and beauty. I can’t tell you which is my favourite, but I’m really amazed and impressed by roses, first because of their shape, then because of their smell. I also love the natural shaping of trees in mountains, it soothes me.
In the preserved products, I love Jeniper and Cedar because these items retain their natural smell.
S.N.: You are spending your time killing plants. Do you really love nature?
K.O.: That’s a severe question…. Sometimes in preserved and dried flowers we can easily keep the texture, shape, and colour of the material. We know that the original flowers are the most beautiful, but sometimes we forget it. For example, my grandfather removed colour from ‘Yamashida’. Only after people realized its beautiful shape. I think it’s the same with flower design.
For that, I’m proud of my job in the sense that people recognize the beauty of nature, and share the gratitude toward nature.
However, in the future, if everyone could recognize the greatness and beauty of nature and make mechanisms of coexistence, my job would not be needed anymore. If that had happened, I would have changed my job to growing plants only.
Website / / / http://www.ohchi-n.co.jp/
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