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Mr. Yoichi Sakai was inaugurated as the New President of Sodick (Thailand). Sodick continues to have an engineer's perspective and promote further development and expansion of the Thai factory
04/03/2022
SAMURAI ASIA Editorial Department
Mr. Yoichi Sakai has been appointed as the new president of Sodick (Thailand) Co., Ltd. as of January 1, 2022. He has been supporting this Thai subsidiary for a long time together with his predecessor, President Hideki Tsukamoto. As the organization is renewed, we interviewed Mr. Sakai about his thoughts on the strengths of the company and his vision for the future.
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Sodick, a company with technological prowess that has remained committed to in-house development
The first time Mr. Sakai came to Thailand was in 2003. He was appointed as a support member for the establishment of a technical building for the purpose of technological development in Thailand. The goal of this project was to be able to carry out development, design, and manufacturing in an integrated manner at the Thai factory in the future. And now, the Thai subsidiary has grown to become the global core of the Sodick Group, and as much as 50% of all Sodick products are manufactured at the Thai factory.
It is no exaggeration to say that Mr. Sakai has been the driving force behind the development of the Thai factory's technological capabilities from the ground up, and he has this to say about the company's strengths.
“The founder's motto, ‘We create what is not available in the world by ourselves’ and ‘We contribute to the manufacturing of our customers’ have been and will continue to be our important policies. I have been dealing with Sodick products as an engineer for a long time since I joined the company, and I believe that our commitment to in-house development is a strength that no other company has. We have developed and incorporated a variety of original technologies into our products over the past 50 years, including NC equipment, linear motors, ceramics, V-LINE® technology, and motion drive systems.” (Mr. Sakai)
In 2019, Die-sinker Electrical Discharge Machine AG200L (EDM) received the Manufacturing Award at the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun()'s 62nd the Best 10 New Product Awards.
Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun: Japan's only national newspaper specializing in industrial fields that has been published for over 100 years.
▲ "AG200L", a Die-sinker Electric Discharge Machine that won the Manufacturing Award as one of the Best 10 New Product Awards
▲ At the award ceremony
Thai Factory - Aiming for further increases and leveling-out of production by expanding the second factory
The ever-expanding Thai factory is expanding not only for Japan, but also for China, North America, Europe, and Asia, where both demand and market shares are increasing. The total production volume in FY2021 was 1,786 units (29 models in total: 10 EDW, 9 EDM, 2 Fine-Holes model, and 8 IMM). In January 2022, the expansion of the 2nd factory was completed. The purpose is to increase the machining space and production equipment, and level out production and improve QCD accordingly.
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▲ Expanded 2nd Factory - Chumnumsap
“The Thai factory not only handles a wide range of products but also complies with the safety standards of each shipping area and responds to customization requests, so the tendency for a wide variety of small lots is remarkable. Therefore, we have decided to expand our factory because we believe that leveling out production is a top priority for quality improvement. We are targeting an average monthly production of 200 units in the future." (Mr. Sakai)
Approaches to Environmental Issues
The company has been manufacturing products that are friendly to the environment by complying with ISO 14000 and the RoHS Directive and will also be focusing on the following activities in the future:
・Review of packaging materials
Reduce the use of plastic and adopt recycled materials for packaging.
・Install solar power generation equipment at the 2nd factory
The first step is to aim for 10% production of electricity for the factory.
“In 2019, we received an award by the Energy Management Team for Designated Factory category of the Thailand Energy Awards 2019*. A specialized team of our engineers has achieved a reduction in power consumption for the third consecutive year in a project to reduce power consumption in the entire factory, and it was highly evaluated. Together with our head office, we will continue to promote carbon neutrality as an issue that needs to be addressed globally." (Mr. Sakai)
* Thailand Energy Awards 2019: A system in which the Ministry of Energy of Thailand commends domestic environmental management and energy conservation activities.
▲ Award Trophy from Thailand Energy Awards 2019
