The Shitamachi Bobsleigh Project brings together the expertise of small manufacturing companies to build bobsleigh sleds for Olympic competition. It was launched in 2012 by a group of volunteer engineers and manufacturers from Ota Ward, with the goal of showcasing Japan’s advanced machining and end-product design and development capabilities to the world.
Since 2020, the project has partnered with the Italian national bobsleigh team, with athlete Mattia Variola competing in international events including the World Cup for five seasons. Registered with the international bobsleigh federation as the only Asian-made sled with world-class competitiveness, it has come within one step of Olympic participation.
Fullheart Japan has been a core member since the project’s inception. We have been responsible for manufacturing some of the sled’s most critical components, including the frame components that form its structural core and footrests that support the athlete’s body. We apply advanced sheet metal and fabrication technologies, including an elliptical cross-section frame designed to provide different vibration absorption characteristics in the vertical and horizontal directions.
As the third company to chair the project, we have also taken the lead in negotiations with overseas bobsleigh teams and in media relations for the Shitamachi Bobsleigh Project.
I-OTA is a collaborative initiative focused on next-generation manufacturing, built on the network that grew out of the Shitamachi Bobsleigh Project. It digitally connects a traditional system of work-sharing among local factories (“nakama mawashi”), enabling multiple small factories to share information and collaboratively develop and manufacture advanced products.
Fullheart Japan also actively participates in I-OTA. As a core member, we help shape the business model, and as one of the hub companies within the manufacturing group, we enhance our technical capabilities and leverage synergies within the network to address customer challenges.