Bespoke new factory in Hamamatsu Japan and drive for technological advancement central to achieving top-three market position as global demand recovers
Supported by strong sales growth and recent expansion of its product portfolio, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd is moving all Intelligent Machines (Yamaha Motor IM) divisions – SMT, robotics and electrical wheelchairs – to a new larger factory in Japan. From this strengthened base, the SMT division expects to secure a top-three market position by 2020.
The SMT division is moving aggressively into the market for high-speed equipment following acquisition of the Hitachi High Technologies chip-mounter business. The company also continues to develop its established product ranges, and has introduced additional new mounter, inspection and printer systems. These new models have helped increases net sales in 2014 by 20 % and operating income by 63.8 %.
Now, to enhance efficiency and accommodate further expansion, the IM Business Units are to consolidate the operations of their current three Hamamatsu sites at a new, larger, combined R&D and manufacturing facility. This new center of operations, located in the Toyooka-cho, Kita-ku area of Hamamatsu, is already under construction and will open in 2017. It has three levels plus a mezzanine, giving total floor space of 53,700 m2.
“Yamaha Motor IM is positioned strongly as the SMT market enters a new phase that places growing demand for advanced technologies,” said Mr. Soichiro Kamijima. “Sustained investment in developing and expanding our product range now enable us to lead in this resurgent environment. The new facilities in Japan will add strength to our capabilities and customer-support services.”
The new Yamaha Sigma series of high-capacity, high-speed chip mounters, acquired by the transfer of assets from Hitachi, boosts the high end of the range and brings technologies such as multi-function heads and splice-free self-loading feeders. Yamaha has completed the transfer of machine production to its own factories, and is moving to strengthen support for Sigma customers while also driving further technical development.
Yamaha introduced several new products during 2014, which are already achieving significant market success. These include the medium-volume/high-flexibility YSM20 mounter, the high-end YSi-V hybrid 2D/3D/multi-angular optical inspection system, and the YCP10 high-performance compact printer.
The new products complement YS-series intelligent SMT-line solutions that share a common software environment, POP/SIP and multi-purpose assembly solutions, and YSH20 hybrid placer with flip-chip capability. In addition, productivity tools including the Y.FacT assembly-management software suite, IT Option for enhanced automation and monitoring, and innovative apps such as Mobile Judgment, help customers maximize the performance of their equipment.
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