GSI Exim America Inc. started operations in 1955 as the first trader of silk-related goods in New York. With the ever-changing demands of the globalized economy, the Japanese firm, nearly 60 years later, had to venture beyond its original portfolio to include nontextile products, such as high-tech components and composite materials.
GSI Exim nearly gave up on the textile industry, viewed widely as an old economy business, because it had stopped generating a sizeable profit.
“There is no such thing as a new or old business, just new or old thoughts,” emphasized Chairman and President Tadaaki Yoshinaga, who also oversees the company’s activities in Europe.
In adapting to the fast-shifting needs of its customers, GSI Exim revised its textile trading to a level on par with its nontextile business. Supporting its textile business, GSI Exim has started to export its designs of casual streetwear to Japan, where they are expected to become extremely popular.
GSI Exim’s product line includes railcar flooring, paint, coating materials, fluorocarbonelastomer for semiconductors and electrical discharge products.
As head of a trading company in the 21st century, Yoshinaga lifted the company’s so-called black box and provided transparency regarding information on all its suppliers and customers, a step that ensures more years of success for GSI Exim.
- Originally prepared by Global Media for The Japan Times Special Report on the East Coast 2014 (Credit: Elizabeth Arcega)
