メニコンは、関工場の操業40周年を記念し、岐阜県関市へ企業版ふるさと納税として1000万円を寄付した。これは、同社の主要製造拠点である関工場が、1984年の設立以来、長きに渡り事業活動を行い、多くの従業員が生活拠点としている関市への感謝の気持ちからである。11月29日に関市役所で行われた寄附目録・市長感謝状贈呈式にて、田中英成代表執行役会長CEOは以下のように挨拶した。
弊社と関市の関係は40年ほどになります。今年が40周年目ということで、何か形にしたいという思いがありました。
おかげさまで弊社の生産量はどんどん増えておりまして、40年前は鉄骨の小さな工場だったのですが、事業拡大していくに応じて工場もどんどん大きくなりました。40年の中では、技術革新がどんどん進む中で、ラインを追加したり新設したりしながら、綱渡りのようなことをしながらどんどん拡張していった工場でありまして、メニコンとしては非常に思い入れの深い工場です。
従業員の数もどんどん増えていきまして、時代の変化とともに、従業員を確保するのは難しい時代もありました。昨今は賃金が非常に高くなってきていることもあって、優秀な人材を取るのもなかなか難しいという問題もあります。こういう問題は、弊社に限らず、産業界が抱えている問題ですが、私どもは、できるだけ働きやすい工場、そして工場自身は女性の働いている数が非常に多く、その女性が働くためには子育てというものが、岐阜県や関市の方でしっかりとやっていただけることが、結果的に私どもの従業員も働きやすい環境の中で安心して仕事していただける環境を作っていけるんじゃないかなと考えています。
寄付金は、関市の「切れ目のない子育て応援プロジェクト」の「18歳までの子ども医療費無償化」事業に活用される。これは、令和5年度から15歳までを対象としていた子ども医療費助成の対象年齢を18歳到達年度末までに拡大したものだ。
山下清司市長は、「40年前に関市の工業団地でいち早く操業し、雇用確保の面からも貢献していただいている。メニコンさんでは子育て世代の方が多く働いており、今後も関市で安心して育児をしていただくためにも今回の寄附を子育て環境の充実に活用していきたい。関市の地場産業は油まみれになるイメージがあるかもしれないが、メニコンさんの工場はクリーンで、多くの女性が働いている。女性の流出が大きい地方都市にとって、メニコンさんのような企業の存在は重要だ。 少子高齢化が進む中、行政としては環境整備に取り組んでいる。メニコンさんの寄付を有効活用し、子供たちの減少に歯止めをかけたい。」と述べた。
メニコンは、今回の寄付を通じて、地域社会への貢献と、従業員の働きやすい環境づくり、そして将来の顧客である子どもたちの育成を支援していく。
感謝状贈呈式の出席者。左から杉本和弘氏（株式会社メニコン生産事業部長）、山下清司氏（関市長）、田中英成氏（株式会社メニコン取締役兼代表執行役会長 CEO）、谷信二氏（株式会社メニコン関工場長）。
Attendees at the certificate of appreciation presentation ceremony. From left: Kazuhiro Sugimoto (General Manager, Production Division, Menicon Co., Ltd.), Seiji Yamashita (Mayor of Seki City), Hidenari Tanaka (Director, Chairman and CEO, Menicon Co., Ltd.), Shinji Tani (Plant Manager, Menicon Seki Plant).
Menicon Seki plant contributes to the community for the future
donated 10 million yen to support childcare (Menicon Co., Ltd.)
In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Seki Plant’s operation, Menicon donated 10 million yen to Seki-shi, Gifu Prefecture, as a corporate version of its hometown tax payment. Hidenari Tanaka, Chairman and CEO, made the following remarks at a ceremony held on November 29 at Seki City Hall to present a donation catalog and a letter of appreciation to the mayor of Seki City. Hidenari Tanaka, Representative Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board and CEO, made the following remarks.
> The relationship between our company and Seki City has been going on for about 40 years. As this year marks our 40th anniversary, we wanted to give something tangible to the city.
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> Thanks to your support, our production volume has been increasing. 40 years ago, we were a small steel-frame factory, but as we expanded our business, our factory became larger and larger. 40 years of continuous technological innovation meant that we had to walk a tightrope as we added and built new lines, and we expanded rapidly. In the 40 years of its existence, the factory has been expanding rapidly while adding and installing new lines as technological innovations continued to advance, and it is a factory that Menicon is deeply attached to.
> > The number of employees has been growing rapidly.
> The number of employees has been increasing rapidly, and with the changing times, there were times when it was difficult to secure employees. Nowadays, wages are becoming very high, and it is also a problem that it is very difficult to get excellent human resources. We are trying to create a factory that is as easy to work in as possible, and since we have a large number of women working at our factory, it is important that Gifu Prefecture and Seki City provide childcare services for these women so that our employees can work in an environment that is easy to work in and provide them with a sense of security. We believe that if we can create an environment where our employees can work with peace of mind in a comfortable working environment, we can also create an environment where they can work with peace of mind.
The donation will be used for the “free medical care for children up to age 18” project of Seki City’s “Uninterrupted Child-rearing Support Project. This project is to expand the age of children’s medical expense subsidies from 15 years old to the end of the year in which they reach 18 years of age, which has been the case since 2023.
Chairman Tanaka cited as reasons for the donation the fact that many of the employees working at the Seki plant are women of child-rearing age, and that he wanted to create a comfortable working environment so that they could work with peace of mind, as well as a sense of gratitude to the city of Seki, where the company has developed its business for many years. He also said that there is also an aspect of investing in their children, who are their future customers.
Mayor Seiji Yamashita said, “We were one of the first to operate in an industrial park in Seki City 40 years ago, and you have contributed to us in terms of securing employment. Many people of child-rearing age are working at Menicon, and we would like to use this donation to enhance the child-rearing environment so that they can continue to raise their children with peace of mind in Seki City. Local industries in Seki City may have an image of being covered in oil, but Menicon’s factory is clean and many women work there. For a regional city with a large outflow of women, the existence of a company like Menicon is important.
As the birthrate declines and the population ages, the government is working to improve the environment. We hope to make effective use of Menicon’s donation and put a stop to the decline in the number of children.” He stated.
Through this donation, Menicon will contribute to the local community, create a comfortable working environment for its employees, and support the development of the children who will be its future customers.
