Kazuo Oyama
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He graduated from the economics course at Keio University in 1918 and joined Furukawa Shoji in April 1932. He left that company in September 1934 and moved to Yokohama Rubber Manufacturing that November. Yokohama Rubber Manufacturing had been founded in October 1917 through a tie-up between Furukawa Electric and U.S.-based B.F. Goodrich, so his path ran from a Furukawa group trading company to a group manufacturer. He became Managing Director in March 1946, 12 years after the move.
Selection
In August 1955, nine years after becoming Managing Director, he became President. The 1960 corporate directory records that he became Executive Vice President after serving as Managing Director and Senior Managing Director, so he reached the presidency by climbing the internal ladder step by step. Who his predecessor was, and how the change came about, cannot be traced from the officers section of the directory.
Initiatives
After the war the company resumed its tie-up with B.F. Goodrich and completed an integrated rubber and vinyl plant in Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture. As of 1962, toward the end of his tenure, its policy was to meet growing demand for tires while expanding highly profitable industrial products and sundries. A urethane foam plant within the Kawasaki plant was already operating, a new tire plant was under construction within the Mie plant, and another new plant was planned in Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture. Capacity expansion extended to all four plants: Kawasaki, Hiratsuka, Mishima and Mie.
Career
Career
Furukawa Shoji
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1932 | Joined |
| Sep 1934 | Left the company |
Yokohama Rubber
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Nov 1934 | Joined |
| Mar 1946 | Managing Director |
| Aug 1955 | President |