Heating equipment and humidifier manufacturer PS Kogyo Sapporo Factory (Kitahiroshima City) was selected as a national green factory to win the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award (METI Minister Award) for this fiscal year. The award was recognition for PS Kogyo’s status as a “Factory in a Forest”, the result of their planting and maintaining some twenty thousand trees on the ten-hectare factory property for a half-century since 1973, the year after their factory launched. This is the 11th METI Minister Award for a Hokkaido site.

The Ministry presents this award to promote factory environment enrichment and the development of green spaces. The METI Minister Award for this fiscal year was presented to one other place only, located in Kumamoto Prefecture.

At the Sapporo Factory site, 87% of the area is green space. Factory staff members plant broad leaf trees like white birch and coniferous trees like Sakhalin fir and perform maintenance like tree thinning. All planting and maintenance are conducted by the staff members themselves.

President Hirayama Yoshihisa and Factory Director Goto reported the award reception to Deputy Mayor Mizuguchi Makoto at City Hall on October 22. President Hirayama commented, “Our company is based on improving interior environments, so our foundation has always been promoting greenery inside and outside the factory as well. We are honored to receive this award and want to think even more about putting the factory trees to good use moving forward.”

PS Kogyo manufactures radiator heaters that use heated water instead of heated air and warm room interiors with radiant heat. Their heaters are used in the Kitahiroshima City Hall building and New Chitose Airport. The Sapporo Factory itself is nicknamed “Madagascar” for its tropical style environment. Ferns are cultivated in the humidity- and temperature-controlled interior, and they even grow fruits like mangos and bananas.