Fruit machines put to good use

Author: Simon Dexter

Takashi Kawakami had always worried about his son, given that Kazunori suffered from autism, and his worries grew all the more as his only child reached working age.

Having only been able to find menial roles in the work place, his father decided to take things into his own hands and give his son a job he could become proud about.

His father founded Hikari Eco Engineering - a non-profit organisation which helped disabled people find work. His idea - and here is the casino link if you were starting to wonder - was to dismantle old fruit machines.

The factory staff is paid a decent wage and, more importantly, gain a work satisfaction and a sense of responsibility they may not otherwise have been allowed in mainstream employment.

There is no work division between the workers, aged between 18 and 53. Each worker takes apart one machine on their own, removing every screw and categorizing the parts. Some parts can be quite profitable. For example, liquid crystal displays can be sold for hundreds of pounds.

Kawakami wanted to see his son being able to live independently - free from charity off the state or from the family and give him a sense of work satisfaction.

After hearing about the idea from a training college, he decided to investigate matters more intensely and, with his own background in the scrap industry, knew that recycling can be a profitable sector.

Kawakami invested some of his own money into setting up the factory in 2004 and set about finding the fruit machines generally abandoned by the gaming industry, with casinos looking for more and more impressive models each year. Currently 1,300 fruit machines are disassembled each year but the factory has the capacity to increase that figure to 5,000.

Workers are paid piece rate meaning they have no set quota to fill and can work at their own speed. They are contracted to just six hours a day and can earn a decent living.

“I believe that the mentally and psychologically impaired will learn to take responsibility over their jobs, which will lead them to a life of independence,” Kawakami says.

“The workers there are so enthusiastic they often ask when the next shipment of slot machines will arrive. Kazunori has also adjusted well to his new environment and is working comfortably.

“Many of those with disabilities struggle to find work. I hope that we can increase the number of workplaces that accept them and provide work,” Kawakami added.

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