EPISODEINTERVIEW
15

After I choose my path, I want to look back with no regrets.

Kyushu Sanko Unyu Co., Ltd.
Kumamoto Center

NARUMI FUKUSHIMA

NARUMI

FUKUSHIMA

Working day after day, carefully and safely, I want to be involved with logistics in many ways in the future.

I'm part of the Kumamoto Center of Kyushu Sanko Unyu Co., Ltd. in the Konoike Group. I'm a truck driver, and I deliver goods made by sweets manufacturer from the factory to stores. I didn't have my regular driver's license when I started working here, right after I graduated from high school, but the next year I received my license to drive small and medium-sized trucks and started delivering on some of the company's standard routes. Nowadays, I am not only in charge of delivery, but I also pack the goods in boxes at the factory.

I get a lot of influence from my father, who is also a truck driver. I really looked up to his profession, and that's what got me into the industry. I drive a two-ton truck each day, and someday I want to get my hauling license or heavy truck license so I can be involved in other kinds of logistics. In the future, I see myself being able to handle all kinds of problems with the experience and skills I've developed. I feel a lot of pride being able to carry the goods of our locally well-known customers. I think it's very important to communicate with many different people, like our customers and the people around us, and I'm always striving to go about my work carefully and safely.

NARUMI

FUKUSHIMA

I believe that showing a happy face each day builds trust. I want people to continue to ask for me.

During my fourth year at the company, I won the women's division of the Kumamoto Prefecture Driver Contest and went on to participate in the National Truck Driver Contest, pledging to play by the rules there. The Driver Contest was a valuable experience, because it allowed me to interact with drivers from other companies, whom I would not otherwise have a chance to meet.
At the Driver Contest, I met an experienced woman driver who, upon meeting me and everyone else for the first time, did her best to communicate and include us. I thought that I would like to have that sort of positive energy, and it changed my outlook on life. Taking part in the contest gave me the opportunity to review my safety practices and techniques, and those experiences continue to influence my daily work. I've always liked driving, and I'm good at quietly focusing on something, so I feel like I'm well-suited to this job. And in addition to driving skills, I also think that showing a happy face is very important. I've been learning from my seniors, and I feel that interacting with customers with a smile on your face is what builds a relationship of trust. During the busy season one year, when the drivers changed due to a change to delivery routes, I was so happy to hear that one of our customers requested me.

NARUMI

FUKUSHIMA

To me, logistics is all about kindness. Someone makes something, and someone else receives it. People are a part of this interaction.

I believe that logistics is all about kindness. From a regular car, trucks sometimes feel like they're in the way or scary. This is why I'm very careful as much as possible when I'm driving, leaving enough space between vehicles so people don't feel this way, as well as communicating with others on the road as best I can. When it comes down to it, this line of work involves someone creating something, someone transporting that creation, and someone receiving it. People are always a part of these exchanges, so I think kindness is very important.