In recent years, the Air Pollution Control Law and the Water Pollution Control Law have been strengthened, and new regulated substances have been added. In addition, the problem of substances such as environmental hormones, which affect the human body even in minute quantities, has become more apparent. In addition, there has been a movement toward the development of environmental management systems in companies, such as ISO 14001 certification, as well as the disclosure of information through environmental reports and other means.

In recent years, the Air Pollution Control Law and the Water Pollution Control Law have been strengthened, and new regulated substances have been added. In addition, the problem of substances such as environmental hormones, which affect the human body even in minute quantities, has become more apparent. In addition, there has been a movement toward the development of environmental management systems in companies, such as ISO 14001 certification, as well as the disclosure of information through environmental reports and other means.

In this environment, the need for environmental measurement certification business, or environmental measurement and analysis, is increasing, and measurement and analysis companies are being pressed to meet the needs for measurement of a wide variety of substances that have increased dramatically in recent years and are expected to continue to increase in the future. Global Change Corporation is developing a trading company business of measurement-related equipment in this field of environmental measurement and analysis business. By taking a unique route not only in sales, but also in rental services and technical support for measurement equipment, the company has established an indispensable position in the measurement and analysis industry. We interviewed Hiroki Nakabayashi, 36, representative director of the company.

He became independent from a manufacturer of scientific instruments.

He also provides speedy responses by strengthening the support system, accurately grasping market needs through direct contact with users and feeding them back to the products, and renting measurement equipment. We wanted to commercialize these services," said Nakabayashi. We wanted to commercialize these services," said President Nakabayashi.

After graduating from Kitasato University in March 1989 with a bachelor's degree in hygiene from the School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine (where he conducted practical training and graduation research on working environment measurement at the Kitasato Health Science Center), Mr. Nakabayashi immediately joined Shibata Scientific Instruments Industry, a manufacturer of scientific instruments. I was assigned to the Environmental Measurement Section and engaged in domestic sales in the environmental measurement field. I was involved in the development of new markets, domestic sales of semiconductor material gas sensors, exporting environmental products to the U.S., and importing environmental products to the U.S. The market for environmental measurement products is closely linked to trends in environmental laws such as the Air Pollution Control Law and the Water Pollution Control Law. Therefore, about three years before the laws and regulations were actually enforced, I was
involved in government study groups to determine the direction and specifications of new developments and import/export of products from overseas markets.

I felt that, as with other products, the price of a product rises due to distribution costs as it goes through wholesalers, primary retailers, distributors, etc. In addition, the voices of actual users are often distant. In addition, the voices of the actual users are far away from us. In particular, environmental measurement equipment has been subjected to a variety of legal regulations and corporate initiatives in recent years, and the users, measurement and analysis companies, are under pressure to respond to a variety of needs.

Therefore, with capital participation from Shibata Kagaku Kogyo, the company became independent and established Global Change in March 1996, which is engaged in sales and rental of environmental measurement products.

The revision of the Air Pollution Control Law created a need for rental services.

As a sales company, we have concluded sales contracts with various equipment manufacturers, and by reducing distribution costs from the manufacturer to Global Change to the user, we are able to offer our products at a 10~20% lower price than in the past. In addition to dust meters, gas concentration meters, various samplers, various flow meters, and water quality measuring instruments, we also handle measurement-related instruments such as analytical glassware and filter paper. But what makes the company unique is the variety of services it provides, which can only be achieved by being involved in the measurement-related industry for a long time.

One such service is the rental of environmental measurement equipment such as canister cans and dioxin samplers. The environmental measurement equipment rental service, which has been developed in partnership with Showa Lease and other companies, began in 1997 when the Air Pollution Control Law was revised to include benzene, trichloroethylene, and tetrachloroethylene as regulated substances.

Canister cans (see photo) are used in Europe, the United States, and other countries as sampling instruments for these trace amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Measurement companies that are commissioned by local governments and companies to measure these substances need these canisters. However, if the measurement is conducted at a certain site, canisters are needed at dozens of locations. A large measurement company, however, may not be able to afford the cost or the storage space for the instruments for a small or medium-sized measurement company. However, we want to take the job. That is why we created the rental service.

In addition, while canister cans are extremely easy to operate in the field, great care must be taken in preparation for measurement and in maintenance after analysis. Because the substances to be analyzed are extremely minute, even the smallest amount of material on the sampling device can compromise the accuracy of the measurement. In some cases, canister cans are actually analyzed twice before sampling. Preparing well-cleaned canisters for sampling in advance is a very labor-intensive process. The ability to use well-cleaned and well-maintained sampling equipment when needed is another major motivation for users to use the rental service. The company also offers a canister cleaning service, which has been well received.

Later, when the need arose to measure dioxins, samplers became necessary, and the company began renting them. Analytical instruments are developing at an ever-increasing pace, but sampling equipment is not so quickly becoming obsolete. However, rental services have been established due to the fact that they are indispensable for measurement and analysis and that they are needed in numbers. Currently, the rental business of various samplers (including cleaning business) accounts for 20~30% of the company's sales.

In addition to equipment rental, the company is also looking into temporary staffing services.

Another of the company's strengths is its ability to make proposals. The company has been gathering information on government trends and customer feedback to make the best use of its career to date. Tighter regulations have created measurement needs for a wide variety of substances, but the measurement methods and types of sampling equipment required differ. We do not just sell or rent equipment to measurement and analysis companies; we go one step ahead and propose the equipment they need. As a customer service, we also publish a newsletter that summarizes government trends and new product information. In addition, we are often consulted not only by users but also by manufacturers of analytical instruments, and we also develop products that combine analytical instruments and sampling instruments to suit specific applications.

In addition to rental of analyzers, we are also looking to expand into the dispatch of operators in the future. Although there is a growing need for measurement and analysis, there is a shortage of operators of analyzers and other equipment, or even if there is not a shortage, there are business sites where it is difficult to have a regular workforce, and the need for operator staffing is increasing.

There is a polarization among measurement and analysis companies. On the one hand, there are companies that have a wide range of equipment and are so heavily outsourced that they cannot keep up with both the personnel and the equipment. On the other hand, there are companies that are not able to provide the equipment and are receiving fewer contracts, and they are responding by merging with other companies. We believe that there is a need for rental services for both types of businesses, and that there is a high need for staffing services for the former type of business.

The market for environmental measurement and analysis, including equipment, is not that large, at approximately 200 billion yen per year. It is also a relatively closed industry. However, the company is building a solid position in a niche within a niche.