11
YOUR GLOBAL CRAFTSMAN STUDIO
Mitsubishi Motors is currently focusing
on expanding production capacity in
Asia. Mitsubishi Motors Thailand Co.,
Ltd. built an engine plant in 2008.
Building a new production line overseas
was more difficult than building one in
Japan. Mr. Masago, Mitsubishi Motors
Kyoto Engineering Department, who
was involved in the establishment of the
production line said, “I was involved in the
engineprocessinglineprojectin2012.The
engine was used for the MIRAGE, which
was produced entirely in Thailand. These
days, it is easy to procure everything we
need in Thailand; but it was not that easy
back in 2012. Of course, it was not Japan,
so everything was different, including
the way orders were placed.” We need to
develop production lines that are suitable
for each country and culture but changing
processing methods carries the risk of
impacting on quality. Mr. Oka, Mitsubishi
Motors
Production
Engineering
Department, who was also involved in
the establishment of the production
line, wanted to install the exact same
production line we had at the Mitsubishi
Motors Powertrain Engineering Plant
in Kyoto. He felt that having the same
production line would make it possible to
reduce risks in applying new processing
methods and that implementing themost
advanced production line, one whose
quality had already been proven in Japan,
would ensure the best performance.
FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE
Part 3 - CooperationwithMitsubishi Materials
for global Expansion
to assess performance. The new tool
life increased by six fold and processing
efficiency jumped by 10%. This is why we
have great confidence in our newproduct.
Terasaka (Mitsubishi Motors):
The
processing efficiency of the machines
increased more than 10%. You may
think 10% isn’t much, but that 10%
improvement has the effect of eliminating
the need for an entire machine that costs
tens of millions of yen.
Yamada (MitsubishiMaterials):
We spent
four years improving this tool; but this is
now an outstanding development that
represents a new era in tool technology.
Sakuyama (Mitsubishi Materials):
Yes,
it was a great chance for me to really
see how the tools we develop are used
by Mitsubishi Motors. As a developer it
was my pleasure to know how satisfied
both users and manufactures were
with products that employed our tools.
Although we are working in different
places, we are connected; and such
bonds can achieve outstanding results.
Goto (Mitsubishi Motors):
I want to
further advance the technology and
methods we have developed. There are
unlimited possibilities for added value in
cutting tools, unlimited potential for cost
reduction and the development of tools
that can control chips and alleviate burrs.
Terasaka (Mitsubishi Motors):
We
always look to develop the best in high-
performance cutting tools. However,
it is also important to optimize the
principal three factors of high-quality,
high-efficiency and low-cost. Mitsubishi
Materials spared no effort to help us
develop new ideas and realize production
and was largely instrumental in
producing the excellent achievements
we attained. The high-performance tools
developed here will also contribute to
other industries.
Establishing a newplant in Thailand
