Located in Tokachi-Obihiro, an agricultural region of Hokkaido, Zukosha Co., Ltd. is a general consulting company involved in a wide range of civil engineering and construction, urban development, and IT projects. Operations at Zukosha are focused on agriculture, environment, and urban development and aimed at creating environmentally friendly communities.
Founded in 1959 as a surveying business, Zukosha began carrying out environmental surveys in 1973 during a period of increasingly severe pollution and environmental issues and now performs surveys and assessments that encompass a range of issues, including air and water quality, soil and groundwater, and waste materials. Zukosha was an early adopter of Shimadzu RIKA’s air supply and exhaust control system, which was installed during the reconstruction of its general science laboratory in 2020.

What were your priorities for the new laboratory and why?

A bright, open, and appealing laboratory with an unrestricted view
We want people to work in a pleasant environment. The laboratory was also designed for in case of tours such as government agencies, companies, farmers, and the agricultural sectors.
High ceilings and white walls were chosen to make the space feel brighter and larger, large windows were selected to maximize natural illumination, and glass was used for the partition walls where feasible to offer an unrestricted view across the entire laboratory.
We thought the ability to see others at work would provide an educational benefit, and increasing the laboratory’s overall size also helps prevent contamination.
At the proposal stage, seeing a near-complete version of the laboratory generated in 3D computer graphics (3DCG) was very useful, along with a chance to incorporate input from our employees.

What were the benefits of working with Shimadzu RIKA, and what else would you like to see Shimadzu RIKA offer?

Creating a pleasant working environment
Before the renovations, air could travel between rooms through gaps in the walls, and doors were sometimes difficult to open or close. The new laboratory has none of those problems, and we no longer have issues with the smell of trash or test samples such as cow manure. We used to receive staff complaints about once every week, but those complaints have stopped entirely. All our issues with the old laboratory have been resolved, demonstrating that the new air supply and exhaust control system is operating as intended.
We are delighted with how Shimadzu RIKA retained the two-tone black and white visual palette throughout the laboratory and how Shimadzu RIKA was prompt and attentive in all dealings throughout the two-year design phase. The 3DCG laboratory mock-up we commissioned was also helpful, though it would have been interesting to be able to adjust the view of the 3DCG mock-up with a touch-screen rather than just having a fixed point of view.

Thank you for using so many of Shimadzu’s products.
We have used many Shimadzu products over the years, including high-performance liquid chromatographs, gas chromatographs, ion chromatographs, atomic absorption spectrophotometers, microscopes, and electronic balances. We choose Shimadzu products over other brands because of their ease of use. We hope that Shimadzu continues to manufacture products with the care and attention to detail that is unique to Japan.

Members of Zukosha
(From the left) Hideto Suzuki (Director, General Affairs), Nobuyuki Takahashi (President & CEO), and Tomoyuki Sato (Deputy Manager, General Science Laboratory)

Thank you for your valuable insights in this interview!

（Interview conducted on December 13, 2023）