Chicago, Illinois, July 7, 2011 – On June 22, 2011, Mori Seiki broke ground on a 200,000-squarefoot factory to be situated on 14.5 acres in Davis, California. The plant will be Mori Seiki’s first manufacturing facility in North America, and will employee between 100-150 personnel. At capacity, the new facility will produce as many as 100 units per month, focusing on the popular new X-Class line of precision machines. “Our initial targets are our horizontal machining centers – the X-Class NHX4000 and NHX5000 Series,” says Mark Mohr, President of DMG / Mori Seiki USA. “Our next product under consideration is the DMU 50 and potentially other X class machines”
The plan of locating a new manufacturing facility in the United States is based on the possibility of the continuing decrease in the exchange rate between the US and Japan. Dr. Masahiko Mori asserts, “If the value of the US dollar declines, it will become fiscally advantageous to manufacture machine tools in North America, eliminating the cost of importing from Japan.” The addition of a new North American factory is expected to offset any disparity in the exchange rate between the two currencies and would ensure Mori Seiki customers the continued quality, precision and value they have come to expect in their machine purchase. Mori Seiki currently operates a total of four factories in the Nara, Mie and Chiba prefectures of Japan. The company’s manufacturing presence in North America builds upon an existing overseas unit in Le Locle, Switzerland (DIXI Machines). Mori Seiki acquired DIXI in 2007 to manufacture and market products under the DIXI brand, but also to expand its capacity in order to manufacture and sell Mori Seiki branded products.
Manufacturing in the US enhances the company’s existing infrastructure in North America. Engineering operations are already established in the US at the Digital Technology Laboratories (DTL) in Davis, CA. Software and machinery has been designed at DTL since 2000, when the group was launched. Today, the group boasts over 80 employees; the creation of a North American manufacturing plant creates further opportunity for R&D collaboration in the US. The Davis, California site offers several other advantages as well. “The west coast location makes it very easy to work with our Japanese colleagues,” says Mohr. “For instance, we will be importing ball screws and spindles from our own manufacturing facilities in Japan—not for purposes of cost saving, but because they’re simply the highest quality.” The nearby UC-Davis and Berkeley campuses ensure that the available workforce is also top-quality; the area is regarded as a proving ground for the latest advances in technology, engineering, and computer sciences.
Mori Seiki remains focused not only on R&D and production, but also on installation and proper maintenance. Mori Seiki’s recent launch of the Mori360 Total Support package in the United States and Canada highlights the company’s commitment to complete customer service. The addition of the new North American factory will raise Mori Seiki’s total monthly output capacity by approximately 100 units to slightly more than 900, preparing Mori Seiki for the anticipated global expansion of machine tool sales in the coming decade. Construction is slated for completion in fall of 2012.
Mori Seiki produces extremely reliable machine tools and distributes worldwide. The American headquarters is in Chicago with offices in Boston, Toronto, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Curitiba, Brazil, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Monterrey, Mexico, Mexico City, São Paulo, Brazil, Seattle and San Francisco. For more about Mori Seiki and the products in the Mori Seiki line, visit the all NEW www.moriseikius.com or call (847) 593-5400.
1 Comment
Another Japaness company making inroads in the American market – too bad it was not an American company – just another example of the decline of the American machine tool industry – It will create jobs, but the bottom line is the cash (profits) will go back to Japan to be re-invested in Japan and not America. When will we wake-up to what is happening to manufacturing in America.!!