The company is well known for its progressive approach to customer service and vehicle technology; Yasujiro SHIMA, an engineer, worked in the early years and became known as a pioneering Japanese railway technologist, eventually making a big contribution to the company (he was the son of Hideo SHIMA, who was a contributor to the production of Shinkansen (bullet trains)).
旅客サービスや車両技術において先進的な試みを行ったことでも知られるが、これを支えたのは初期に同社の技師として、日本の鉄道技術の先駆者と言われる島安次郎が在職したという背景がある（彼は新幹線実現の功労者である島秀雄の実父でもある）。