A Japanese giant sets up shop in the USA

Many moulders and mouldmakers in Japan have followed their customers toother parts of the world, such as China and Southeast Asia. With the recentturmoil in sectors of the Asian economy, many of them may be feeling abit pinched when it comes to making good profit margins. Some may evenbe faced with problems making them question the wisdom of moving offshore.However, Akira Nagamatsu is not very troubled. Even long before all thepresent-day turmoil, when he saw it was time to grow his company with anoffshore operation, he acted on his own, rather than following his customers.

You see, he already virtually owned the markets he served back home. Moreover,he did not follow his competitors to Pacific Rim ports. Rather, he builthis new facility in the USA--Anaheim, California, to be more precise, thehome of Disneyland. Since the plant went into operation in August 1997,sales have been US$ 200,000 a month. And the margins? Well, he just smiles.

Nagamatsu is the president and CEO of US$ 50-million Meiho Co. Ltd., whichhas its headquarters in Fukuoka, Japan. Meiho is very well known in theAsia-Pacific marketplace, not as much for its moulding services, as forits moulds. It is the number one manufacturer of PET bottle moulds in Japanfor biaxial stretch-blowmoulding systems.

Meiho may be even better known in Japan as one of the leading manufacturersof progressive stamping dies, encapsulation mould dies, and automated manufacturingsystems for integrated circuits. Also, it is generally regarded as thenumber one manufacturer of injection moulds for small precision parts inJapan.

In fact, the company got its start in injection mould design and manufacturingas Meiho Precision Works in 1973, and spun-off its expertise in this areainto custom moulding. Today, it operates 35 Nissei moulding machines inone of its three factories in Japan, all of which are supported by thecompany's separate R&D center, which is largely dedicated to productionengineering. Nagamatsu says he selected the United States for a numberof reasons, including its wealth of skilled technicians, its form of government,its growing and stable economy, and its market diversity.

"After 25 years, we were already very well established back home.There is almost no place left for us to grow in our markets over there,but there is room for us here, especially with a big, 4,800-sq-m plant,"he jokes. He first visited the USA 23 years ago on a business trip, andhe liked what he saw. So much so in fact, he has now personally moved tothe USA.

When IMI asked him what it was like for him setting up shop in the U.S.,he put his head in his hands and groaned, "The details, the leasingagreements, the contracts, all the paperwork . . . and the lawyers, thelawyers, the lawyers. My heart was very damaged." Still, he has seenit through, and he has built a good foundation for future growth. So let'stour this Japanese plant set up to mould in America.

Room to Grow

Shigefumi Iino, senior vice president, is our guide through Meiho TechnologyInc. His background is in engineering and he worked out of Meiho's R&Dcenter before moving to the U.S. Now he handles sales for Meiho Technology,which in itself says a lot about how the company operates. It is a technology-drivencompany. By the way, "Meiho" means "bright" and "abundant."That is why the company logo is a sun and the sea.

On display in the plant's reception lobby are many different kinds of partsthe company manufactures, everything from pens and golf balls to CDs andfiberoptic connectors. There also are PET preforms, a number of insertmoulded parts, and packaged ICs. Nagamatsu has a saying: "Simple partscan be done anywhere." Meiho Technology specializes in especiallycomplex mouldings.

Quality control is the first area we reach. Like many other areas of theplant, the quality control room is almost empty, save for a sophisticatedTopcon universal measuring microscope. Iino says a coordinate-measuringmachine will soon be installed here.

The Moulding Area

Then we walk into the spacious moulding area. Almost half of the plantis for moulding. The other half is reserved for mouldmaking. Presently,Meiho Technology has 12 moulding machines in operation, but the shop flooris so big, it looks virtually deserted. However, Iino reassures us thatthe room will be filled with machines by the end of 1998. There is roomfor 40 machines.

All of the moulding machines are from Nissei. Nagamatsu was a close personalfriend of the late Katashi Aoki, the former chairman and founder of Nissei."Mr. Aoki said every time, 'Mr. Nagamatsu is my fishing teacher,'when introducing me to others," he recalls. He is also close to officialsat Nissei America's operations--in more ways than one. Nissei America isonly about a 5-minute walk from Meiho Technology. "They can put amachine on a forklift and drive it down here and have it up and runningin a very short amount of time," says Iino. The company plans to domore moulding of larger products in the U.S., reserving small parts productionfor its operation in Japan. There is considerable room for larger tonnagepresses.

Each machine, from Nissei's latest FN series, works in a self-containedworkcell containing a Yushin servorobot, a Matsui dryer and loader witha Bunting Magnetics metal separator, and a very quiet Nissui cutter, andother standardized equipment. Crizaf parts conveyors are also frequentlyused. Scrap (averaging 1 percent) is immediately recycled back into theprocess. All floor-standing support systems are roller mounted for portability.Utilities are from overhead and all the stations are already in place formore moulding machines. Overhead cranes have yet to be installed. MeihoTechnology uses a 3-ton movable crane to change its moulds, and has a 5-tonmoveable crane on order. Its cranes are designed to be high enough so asnot to interfere with the robots.

Just the Beginning

Moulds are changed frequently, and the company ships from stock. Inits entire 4,800 sq m of space, there is no warehouse whatsoever. Presently,Meiho Technology is running many of its customers' moulds, but by the endof the year it will run its own. Outside, there is a 100-ton Thermal Carecooling tower/heat exchanger with enough capacity for 30 machines. Twochillers also are there. Mould water is kept absolutely clean with corrosioninhibitors. Iino says such measures are largely unnecessary in Japan, wherethe water is purer. Back inside, he tells us that an injection mouldingcleanroom area soon will be installed in the adjacent mouldmaking wingof the plant. Meiho Technology plans to install a superhigh-speed injection,40-ton, UH series Nissei machine equipped with Nissei's Triple-Melt injectionsystem in this clean area. It already runs such a machine in Japan.

Mouldmaking, Too

As mentioned, Meiho may be better known for its moulds back home. Itintends to be known for its moulds in North America, as well. It is justa short walk from the moulding area to mould manufacturing, and that isintentional. To Meiho Technology, the two are one. It works in prehardenedsteel in the U.S., and outsources heat treating. It does some prototypemoulds.

Meiho makes its own hot runner systems, like its valve-gated multicavitymoulds for preforms. It intends to build such tooling in the U.S., andmany more different types of tools. A 5-ton and a 2-ton fixed crane arealready in place. So far, most of what is done in California is mould repairwork, though its first three die sets are being built as we tour. In time,the entire mouldmaking area will be climate controlled and air-conditioned,just like the cleanroom, for quality's sake.

A Sodick EDM machine has been installed. Meiho Technology prefers copperelectrodes. Capacity also presently includes a Makino CNC milling machine,an Okamoto surface grinder and lathe, and an Ikeda radial drilling machine.But, there is room for more. Iino says that all of the different typesof DNC, CNC, and NC systems it has in place back home will eventually beadded to its U.S. capacity list. Meiho Technology also plans to installPro/E CAD/CAM software in the U.S. within the year. It already runs Pro/Ein Japan.

Joining us back in the main office area, Nagamatsu concludes that his moveto the United States was a good idea. The factory opened in May of 1997and suffered the usual start-up woes, but, since August, he says the planthas been doing very well. "We will prove to the world that our technologyis world class," he says. In the States, he has found the room heneeds to do just that.

Contact Information:

Meiho Technology Inc.
Mr. Akira Nagamatsu
4935 E. Hunter Ave.
Anaheim, California 92807, USA
Tel: +1 (714) 777-8787
Fax: +1 (714) 777-8792