MHI to Build New Injection Molding Machine Factory in Nagoya

Tokyo, October 25, 2018 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) will build a new factory on the site of the Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works Oye Plant in Minato-ku, Nagoya, and lease it to U-MHI Platech Co., Ltd. (U-MHIPT), a maker of injection molding machines.

The new factory will be located on an approximately 18,000m² plot of land operated by Nagoya Railroad near Higashi Nagoyako Station. Construction will begin in December 2018, with completion scheduled for March 2020. U-MHIPT is to complete its transfer to the new facility by July 2020. The new factory will resolve the current issue facing U-MHIPT of dispersed locations for manufacturing facilities, materials, and works in progress, allowing for more efficient production by providing a revised layout that better takes into consideration the manufacturing process. In addition, U-MHIPT will enhance its competitiveness by having an advanced manufacturing facility in the Nagoya area, near its main customers and other auto industry clients concentrated in the Tokai region.

The Iwatsuka Plant was established in 1943 to make cast and wrought parts for aircraft engines, and has served as a manufacturing facility for medium-level mass production of industrial machinery, including injection molding machines, food packaging machines, and Meiki engines (small-scale air-cooled gasoline engines). Of these production lines, food packaging machinery maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machinery Systems has begun production at the Kobe Plant in Hyogo-ku, Kobe, and plans to complete its relocation by March 2019. Meiki engine maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Meiki Engines plans to secure a new cutting-edge facility in Aichi Prefecture, and transfer to the new site by the end of September 2019.

The businesses currently operating at the Iwatsuka Plant are in the process of relocating to other regions or factories due to business consolidation and restructuring, or through partnerships with other companies. Accordingly, after U-MHIPT's relocation, outside of inspection facilities and other functions of the Research & Innovation Center area, the plant site will be redeveloped for other purposes. Specifically, MHI is considering a mixed use development to include a company welfare and recreational facility, as well as commercial facilities.

MHI Group is actively working to optimize management strategies in order to enhance its overall presence in global markets.