INSIGHT HYAKU100

Celebrate 100 Years With Gc

On corporate identity and the pursuit of ‘work’: a reflection of GC’s 100 years

Tales of grassroots, ground-up success are still the narratives we love to celebrate. Resilience after loss. Triumph through adversity. Such is the blueprint for an idealist seeking change. For GC founders Kiyoshi Nakao, Yoshinosuke Enjo and Tokuemon Mizuno, the challenges of the market in a post-war world only fuelled their vision: to bring value to society through quality and innovative dental products, serving the vitality of people across the globe.

Formed in Japan in 1921, GC’s entry into the dental manufacturing field a year later with ‘Standard Cement’ came short of the breakthrough they had anticipated. Coming to terms with the reality of running an enterprise, the founders learned to embrace an external voice, one most important: the customer. So began a lifelong devotion to serving the needs of the end user, fulfilled by continual improvement and true, quality products.

Today, the term ‘social responsibility’ is a stakeholder expectation when implementing corporate governance — yet for GC, the answer to such newer concepts like corporate social responsibility was founded one century prior. Its 100-year philosophy of SEMUI, a combination of ‘selflessness, objectivity, charity and wisdom’ is the persisting legacy of its founders today. These unchanging values continue to enable outstanding contributions to the dental industry whilst improving global welfare through oral healthcare - all the while championed by GC’s unique sentiment on ‘work’, one seldom endorsed around the world:

“Translated to English, the Japanese verb hataraku means work, which has two meanings: ‘labour of efforts’ and ‘a composition or product of art’.”

For associates of GC, the meaning holds a higher purpose. Stripped of its complicated undertones of ‘labour’, ‘work’ should mean to realise a vision; to conceptualise, create and complete. The success of GC on a global scale for 100 years and counting is thus owed to its internal operational model; one that departs from the traditional ‘employer vs. employee’ framework. Instead, GC culture focuses on the spirit of all associates — Nakama — and their united, localised efforts to serve the development of dental science and public oral health care worldwide.

With the strength of Nakama, GC maintains its status of a privately held company independent from investors and external capital, ensuring the prioritisation of innovation and sustainable growth for many years to come. Operating in over 100 countries today, GC’s industry-leading products and services is an exceptional testament to its own success, powered by 100 years of history, a robust organisational identity and an uncompromising philosophy:

“True products are made for the good of others, not for the sake of oneself.” – Kiyoshi Nakao