Our expansion into Europe would not have been possible without two foreigners. One was Mr. Sale, who originally approached us about a technical partnership with a Swiss company. He was amazed at the attitude of the then president, Masuo HOSOKAWA, to the company's technology, and offered to sell Hosokawa machines in Europe if they could compete with the superior Swiss technology.

The other was Milbank C. GILLHAM, an American, our first foreign employee. Originally we had only engaged him as an English teacher, but he later applied to join us and the Trade Department was set up.

In the same year that the Trade Department was set up, Mr. Sale arranged for us to be stationed in the UK office. Mr. Isao SATO, then an 18 year old apprentice, was chosen to take charge. Of course, there were no Japanese there. It is said that Mr. Gillam chose Mr. Sato because of his great adaptability. It must have been an ordeal for Mr. Sato, who could not even speak English at the time of his appointment. As a result of his self-improvement and several long overseas assignments, he was able to gain the trust of the local people and to carry on and expand his work. He was later appointed to a position responsible for the company's international development and eventually became a consultant to the company. In this way the company's sales structure in Europe and the USA was established, leading to later mergers and acquisitions.