A leader in Okinawa Prefecture’s foundation work sector

We found this crawler crane, with its brilliant blue-green body surrounded by countless hibiscus flowers. Kinjo Juki Co., Ltd., which is headquartered in Okinawa, started using crawler cranes of this design over a decade ago. Mr. Tsutomu Kinjo, the current president, decided on the design as part of his aim to improve the image of Okinawa. The body colors are reminiscent of the clear skies and blue oceans around Okinawa and hibiscus – called akabana, or “red flowers” by the locals -- are the symbol of the islands, so the combination is doubly symbolic. It was February, but there was a sunny southern island mood in the air.

Kinjo Juki founded in 1968 as a subcontractor handling mainly civil engineering projects, is now under the leadership of Mr. Tsutomu Kinjo, current president and second-generation Kinjo, and concentrates exclusively on foundation work. Today, as one of Okinawa’s preeminent pile foundation work contractors, the company takes on foundation construction work for projects as varied as bridges, temporary piers, condominiums, and private homes. Kinjo Juki has built the foundations for some of Okinawa’s most famous structures, including the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Tomarin, Koza Music Town, Yui-rail (Okinawa Urban Monorail) opened in 2003, the New Ishigaki airport terminal opened in 2013, not to mention resort hotels and high-rise condominiums. Its business is booming and the number of projects is at a record high.

Currently, Kinjo Juki owns about 10 Kobelco crawler cranes including BM-G base machines for civil engineering and foundation work.

“Kobelco’s cranes respond precisely to the controls, they’re easy to drive, tough, and highly reliable. The engines and undercarriages have been improved a lot, and the operators love them.”

That quote was from Kinjo Juki Managing Director Mr. Yukinao Tomoyori. He started work as a welder at the age of 18, worked about 10 years on site, and then got promoted to construction site manager, working at sites all over the island. As managing director, his main responsibility is to oversee the jobsites. Foundation work is hard to assess, because the foundation can’t be seen when the whole work is finished. It may be not outstanding at a glance, but the foundation is the first step, regardless of the type of structure. And it’s a step that plays a very big role in assuring the safety of the construction work that follows.

“When we build foundations, many times we cannot intuitively picture what kind of structure is going to be built on it. So when the project is done, and we go by and see the amazing buildings that have gone up, we can take a deep breath and say, ‘I’m so glad we had the opportunity to do that job.’”