Precision-crafted ceramic cookware Ginpo Co., Ltd.

While ceramic cookware is beautiful, strong and easy-to-use, today it has largely been supplanted by stainless steel and Teflon-coated aluminum because of the difficulty and expense involved in mass-producing it. To be a success in today's market, earthenware companies need to create cookware with the build quality, tight tolerances and heat management abilities of their metal counterparts, while still maintaining the appealing aesthetic of how ceramics ought to look. It's a challenge that very few manufacturers can rise to meet, and the Ginpo Co., Ltd. in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, is one of those few.

Founded in 1932 by the Kumamoto family to mass-produce ceramic pots and crockery, Ginpo narrowed its focus in 1964 to make only top-quality cookware. Currently headed by third-generation president Tetsuya Kumamoto, the company is known as a purveyor of some of the finest quality ceramic cookware in Japan.

The company's product lineup is small, yet each item is made to very precise, exacting standards. Ceramics are a lot more difficult to mass-produce than metals and plastics. Source materials need to be mixed precisely to ensure strength and durability. Even the temperature and humidity on any given day can affect the overall quality. Ginpo uses a number of high-quality imported materials and some, like petalite, come from as far away as Zimbabwe.

Every lid the company makes is interchangeable with every base of a particular model. The precision needed to achieve this across every one of the thousands of items made is quite impressive. They also adapt and develop products as cooking technologies change. The company's IH Mishima series pushed development to the limits as the metal heating element that reacts with the IH magnetic field had to fit perfectly in the base of each pot.

Premium quality commands a premium price, which is a challenge for the company. Ginpo is now looking at providing select, high-end retail shops with its top-quality line. It's also looking at innovative marketing techniques like partnering with gourmet chefs whose restaurants and cooking style complement Ginpo's quality and aesthetic.

Ginpo recognizes the need to expand internationally as superior products such as theirs are a once-in-a-lifetime purchase for many customers. The quality craftsmanship and precise manufacturing of the BLISSIO range has the hallmarks of global success for the company.