Jacto, Inc.
With a history that started with our founder Mr. Shunji Nishimura in 1948 in Brazil, Jacto is currently present in more than 100 countries. Jacto has plants in Brazil, Argentina and Thailand, and business offices in the United States. We manufacture high-technology agricultural equipment and machinery, and we offer innovative solutions for precision agriculture. We also manufacture portable manual and battery-operated equipment. Since the first product, an agrochemical duster, our company is guided by the search for excellence and the commitment of never abondoning farmers to their own luck and giving them all the assistance they require.
Company details
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- Business Type:
- Manufacturer
- Industry Type:
- Crop Cultivation
- Market Focus:
- Globally (various continents)
- Year Founded:
- 1948
This company also provides solutions for other industrial applications.
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About Us
Our founder always said: “nobody grows alone”. We try to provide an inspiring environment for the people who work or do business with us and we invest for them to be able to carry out projects and achieve goals for themselves and the company. Therefore, Jacto shares its results also with the surrounding communities where it is based by opening and maintaining schools, courses, training and more.
Now, with more than 70 years old, our roots and values hold us firm and allow us to look at the present and the future in search of new opportunities with the same enthusiasm, the same passion for people and excellence that were the principles of our founder.
Shunji Nishimura
Jacto was founded by Shunji Nishimura, a Japanese immigrant who arrived in Brazil in 1932, at the age of 21, seeking a better life.
Shunji was born on December 8, 1910, in Uji, a Kyoto province. He was the second son of Shotaro and Toshi Nishimura’s six children. At 19, Shunji graduated from Dai-Ichi Kogyo Gakko Industrial School in Kyoto as a mechanical technician and started to work at the family coal factory.
He was a young and determined dreamer who decided to come to America in search of new opportunities. In January 1931, Shunji entered Rikkokai School, a Methodist Church-related school, which prepared young Japanese to immigrate. He intended to go to Bolivia, but chose Brazil as the Brazilian government paid for the trip. He boarded the Buenos Aires Maru ship, at Koke Port on February 6, 1932. He arrived at Santos Port on March 22.
After a few weeks at a bed-and-breakfast for immigrants in São Paulo city, the young Shunji started harvesting coffee at the Santa Maria farm in Botucatu city. The work was hard and the wage small. So, Shunji decided to leave to Rio de Janeiro where he worked as a butler for a couple in Petrópolis. He saved some money intending to resume his studies, improve his Portuguese, get to know Brazil and explore its opportunies.
In 1934, he returned to São Paulo and enrolled in Colégio Adventista Brasileiro Elementary School located in Santo Amaro neighborhood. He studied eight hours per day and worked at the school. A year later, he ran out of money. He left school and found work as a lathe operator and welder at a factory. The wage was so low that he sometimes had only bread and banana for breakfast.
At the Brazilian Episcopal Church, in Pinheiros neighborhood, he met his first wife Chieko Suzukayama.
Together with friends, Shunji opened the repair shop Seikoosha in Lapa neighborhood where they started manufacturing cans for black tea produced in Registro, near Vale do Ribeira.
In February 1939, Shunji decided to try his luck in the country side. He took a train in São Paulo to Alta Paulista region and got off 472 kilometers afterwards at the last stop: Pompéia, at the time, a small gathering of wooden houses.
Shunji Nishimura rented a house at 127 Senador Rodolfo Miranda street and hung a sign that read: “We fix everything.” He fixed bowls, transformed lubricating oil cans into buckets and mugs, invented an alembic to distill menthol, fixed agricultural machines, trucks, adpted gasoline engines to gas, among other things.
In this shop, farmers also asked Nishimura to fix their agrochemical dusters which were imported and had no technical assistance in the region. By fixing so many of them, he designed a new model which was better and easier to use. It was the first duster created in Brazil and the first Jacto brand product, in 1948.
Shunji Nishimura ran Jacto Máquinas Agrícolas until 1972, when the company formed its first board of directors and his son, Jiro Nishimura, was chosen president. The founder dedicated himself then to design new products such as the first coffee harvester. He continued to guide the company’s strategies and decisions. Nishimura died on April, 2010 at the age of 99.
Museum and Memorial
Shunji Nishimura is honoured with a museum and a memorial in Pompeia, built by the foundation named after him. The museum keeps documents and objects that tell his history: the first machines, tributes he received, trips and records that portrait his life.
The Memorial is a garden with Mr. Shunji Nishimura statue, a monument to his wife Chieko and a belvedere with a beautiful view of the valley. It was opened on April 21, 2012 at the Foundation headquarter. Tribute and care with the life history of a man who is deeply linked to the history of Brazilian agribusiness itself.
The Clover
The three-leafed clover became the symbol and coat of arms of the Nishimura family over five centuries ago.
A common plant that grows spontaneously and spreads rapidly. In Japan’s internal wars, battles sometimes devasted the fields and farmers lost their crops. The clover, however, soon sprang up.
That is why, the Nishimura family considers it a symbol of hope, renewal and perseverance. It is a sign from the soil that when tough times are over, life always springs back. Therefore, the clover has also become the symbol of the company. Throughout the existance of our company, at work, in designs, successful and difficult moments, the clover always reminds us of our founder’s example, his daily struggle for a better life, his perseverance and his sound values which he has passed on to us.
Philosophy
PURPOSE
“Serve farmers by providing the best mechanization technology, information and services to contribute to their noble mission.”
VALUES
WITH JACTO, THE CUSTOMER IS HAPPY
The small repair shop of our founder, Shunji Nishimura, may not have had technology to make the best equipment possible. However, he never abandoned farmers to their own fate. He was always repairing old machines or improving his creations based on customer’s assessments. This was the base for Jacto to quickly adopt a Japanese production model focused on quality and customer service. At every idea and product finished, we ask ourselves: do you think the customer is happy?
NOBODY GROWS ALONE
At the launch of K3, the first coffee harvester in the world, our founder seized the opportunity of having all employees, partners and suppliers gathered in the event to have a picture taken with a banner which displayed this sentence. With this gesture, he expressed his gratitude for everyone’s dedication for the success of that project. This value in imprinted in Jacto’s DNA. Here, we know the development of our company depends on personal dedication, cooperation and team work.
DEVELOP OUR PEOPLE AND AVOID HIRING FROM OTHER COMPANIES
Creative people with different abilities are those who can contribute to the sustainable development of our company. At Jacto, we identify capacities, profiles and wishes and we encourage our employees to get there. Hence, we build long-lasting careers and avoid taking people from other companies.
WORK HARD TO PROSPER
We learn from our leaders to value efforts and face difficulties as fuel. At the beginning in Pompéia, Shunji Nishimura transformed oil cans in mugs, fixed bowls and other things, and it took him two years to manage to buy his first electrical weld. That is why, we believe success is the consequence of hard work.
HONOR COMMITMENTS
We have to remember companies and society around us are formed by people. And to honor commitments is to believe in people. This is an ingrained value of our founder’s Japanese culture and was transmitted to Jacto as one of its fundamental principles.
AVOID DEBTS
As it is not possible to foresee the future, we avoid supposing businesses will always prosper. Agribusiness is a market segment that is susceptible to highs and lows. To prosper in a sustainable way, we follow our founder’s advice: “After night, always comes day, and after day, always comes night”. Therefore, we avoid debts by using the capital generated by the business to finance its growth.
THREE VIRTUES: HUMBLENESS, HONESTY AND SIMPLICITY
One of the most traditional plants in Japan is the bamboo which only begins to take root after two years it was planted to then grow. It is a simple tree where food is taken from, houses, buildings, furniture and a great variety of utensils are made from. High and fine, the bamboo stands tall because of its strong roots. We understand these roots as being humbleness, simplicity and honesty, essential virtues to build healthy and long-lasting relationships for our Company.
INNOVATIVE SPIRIT
There are countless innovation examples in our Company. The first Brazilian duster, the first coffee harvester in the world, Otmis Telemetry system, the precision agriculture mechanization course. In management and processes, we have innovated by using Toyota production system, the Lean methodology, among many others. We keep this spirit alive as it nourishes our development. New ideas and solutions to serve farmers around the world are fostered by technologies, products and services.
SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
We understand we are co-responsible for the well-being and progress of our community. We work following strict sustainability criteria and all investments are approved only if they follow the best practices regarding the environment. We strongly believe in education as a force that transforms society and promotes personal development. Therefore, we seek to contribute not only with financial resources, but also to engage in projects. For example, Shunji Nishimura Foundation of Technology maintains a Technological College in partnership with São Paulo State government that offers pioneer courses in Precision Agriculture and Big Data in Agribusiness areas. We also maintain a high school and technical school in partnership with SENAI.
HAPPINESS IN SHARING
We practice and believe in Bumpunku, a concept of the Japanese author, Koda Rohan, which means sharing happiness. For us, it is a joy to announce achievement and share financial results with our employees. When we invest time, resources and efforts into projects for society we are also sharing results and happiness.