Innovation in Tequila Production. Monozukuri Philosophy at Casa Sauza

por Servando Calderon Servando Calderon | Dec 25, 2021 4:41:01 PM

Monozukuri forum at Casa Sauza

Innovation is part of Casa Sauza's DNA. Ever since 1873, with the Sauza family and its first generation (lead by Don Cenobio Sauza), we have been pioneers in the integration of technology and new manufacturing and commercialization systems to our production processes. Being now a part of Suntory Group, we have come to understand and incorporate their Monozukuri production philosophy, which is "the art of producing spirits" based on the human capacity for innovation and centered on human creativity.

All of us at Casa Sauza are Mexican, all of Sauza's tequila is made by Mexicans. We are proud of our heritage and lineage. Five generations of families have worked in our distillery ever since Don Eladio Sauza's times (second generation), which is why we share with Suntory their respect for history, tradition and culture, setting the trust that the clients and society put in our company, as our foundation.

Monozukuri philosophy is focused on quality, which perfectly matches Don Francisco Sauza's (third generation) mentality, since he was passionate about quality and innovation applied to tequila production processes. He improved Casa Sauza's manufacturing processes and we still follow his insatiable effort to achieve respect and acknowledgement for our national drink. In order to do so, we have established the highest quality standards in manufacturing, which are stated in the declaration of a Denomination of Origin and in the Official Mexican Standard.

Today, we are convinced that manufacturing a product of excellence is a commitment that must be embraced to the heart. This is the state of mind that our human talent must have throughout the entire production chain. It is a commitment with the environment, with constant learning, with the improvement in skills and technology in order to meet the expectations of both our customers and consumers.

Therefore, we are in perfect agreement with the spirit of Suntory expressed as Yatte Minahare (Do it, you will never know until you try). This spirit invites us to find truth, virtue and beauty in the action that perseveres (our distillery happens to be called "Perseverance"). One learns by doing and that is the only way we achieve wisdom, which is why one should never fear action: it is the best way to improve with creativity and, actions are what can lead us to build new trends by accumulating improvements. In addition to Yattte Minahare, the Monozukuri mentality includes the following manufacturing principles:

  • Clients come first
  • Professional pride
  • Cooperation and bonds
  • Think and act from a bird's point of view

I see in our people a passion for design and innovation and with this philosophy and state of mind, we guide ourselves towards improvement, convinced that the production of our tequila, with an always higher quality, is based on the growth of our people, our work team and the each person's talent.

On December we celebrated the fourth anniversary of our Enfocados (Focused) event. This event is a part of the internal Monozukuri forum. In this event, we recognize those teams of collaborators who have developed improvement initiatives and who have been favorably evaluated by an external jury that doesn't belong to our company. Many of these initiatives are technological improvements, designed internally, in our company, by our own people. As an example, we find improvements even in the most simple processes, such as the special greasing of our packing machine, which made it possible for us to reduce our greasing cycles from thirty to just one. In the Enfocados event as well as in the Monosukuri forum, all the improvements that help us optimize our processes and resources are evaluated. We will continue to drive this growth and keep you informed of the results and winners of this Monozukuri forum.

Click here for our Japanese version.

If you are interested learning more about innovation in tequila production on-site, feel free to come and take one of our guided informational tours. You'll love the whole experience, both  at Casa Sauza as well as visiting the beautiful -and very Mexican- Tequila town.

Click here for more information on Casa Sauza Guided Tours

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