Airu Engineering: From Okayama to the World

Founded in 2013, Airu Engineering offers expertise and services in infrastructure development, from road construction and seismic reinforcement to renewable energy power generation.

With Japan facing well-documented demographic challenges leading to human labor shortages, Airu Engineering company president, Jun Genba, is adamant that the solution lies in Value Engineering, which combines new technology with the firm’s existing expertise: “Going forward, we will try to implement the best from new technologies while also leveraging the best features of our human capital and experience.”

And, indeed, two of the company’s domestic focuses, solar and wind power generation respectively, offer ample potential for technological innovation. Drones can be used, for example, to observe and maintain both onshore and offshore wind turbines if the sites are difficult for humans to access. Along with AI they can also help shorten the construction period. “Another example,” Mr. Genba states, “is solar panel installation on the slopes of mountains, where the use of drones enables our human resources to plan where to place the panels accurately.”

In terms of seismic reinforcement work, Airu Engineering can carry out construction work to extend the life of infrastructure by adjusting optimal seismic reinforcement measures such as the RC jacketing method, the carbon fiber jacketing method, and the installation of bridge fall prevention devices for existing road bridges. 

As well as maintaining its domestic focus, Airu Engineering is also looking at global expansion, particularly in the fields of construction, civil engineering and renewable energies.

With Airu Engineering’s existing experience in offshore wind power construction, cooperating with companies with cutting-edge technology has the potential to revolutionize offshore wind turbine installation in Japan.

And indeed, a recently established partnership with a leading UK offshore wind turbine cable protection system could be a game-changer with countless opportunities for mutual development. New technologies are, of course, often fused from pre-existing ones, a process Mr. Genba describes as the “multiplication of creativity.”

Thinking outside of the box, meanwhile, is widely regarded as one of Airu Engineering’s strengths. In 2019, the company established a West African branch in Ghana. New construction projects are also afoot. These include SDGs building construction work to improve energy efficiency with a view to creating a decarbonized and sustainable society, and various infrastructure development projects for long life.

Mr. Genba is optimistic about the mid-term, with the company looking to expand beyond its current West African base. “We are looking all over Africa. I would like to see our company capturing more areas of Africa as well as Europe. Our company motto is to put down roots locally and develop things from there.”

Airu Engineering is now ten years old, and it is exciting to think what the next decade might bring. Certainly, Mr. Genba is not short of ambition. “One goal,” he says, “is to have the ability to implement a full project from the start by fusing the knowledge we have gained from overseas collaboration, in other words, to introduce new technologies from all over the world.”

And, a more modest aim, which arguably underpins the whole enterprise: “I want to increase the happiness of all those who are related to or work for the company.”