New Texas Assembly Plant Anchors Nissei’s Bid for More of Mid-to-Large U.S. Injection Press Market

At NPE2018, in Orlando, Fla., I sat down with Nissei president Hozumi Yoda to discuss the significance of this new venture at the booth of the firm’s U.S. sales company, Nissei America, Inc., Anaheim, Calif.

I broke the ice by mentioning that I had interviewed Mr. Yoda’s father, who previously headed the company, at IPF plastics fairs in Japan about 30 years ago. At that time, Japanese injection machines were making their first large impact on the U.S. market.

Today, Mr. Yoda said, “In the U.S., there are strong and steady needs for mid- to large-size injection molding machines,” spurred largely by the automotive market, but also, he noted, by appliances, construction, pallets and large shipping containers. “To meet these needs, we are now manufacturing large hybrid-type machines here in the U.S.”

These machines will initially be sized from 560 to 1300 metric tons (600 to 1440 U.S. tons) in the FNX-III and FVX-III series of direct hydraulic clamping presses with servo-driven pumps. Nissei refers to such energy-saving servo-hydraulic presses as “hybrid” types.

“Until now,” Yoda said, “our machines sold in the U.S. are made at the headquarters in Japan, Thailand factory, or China factory. This was a disadvantage for us in terms of both lead time and cost, and could lose many potential orders due to the lead time. Nissei has about 10% overall market share in the U.S.; however, our share for the large machines is only 5%. We can boost our share by supplying machines that offer quick delivery time and competitive pricing. Our Texas plant also can handle customizations in a timely manner, and many parts are stocked locally. (Major components are supplied from Nissei’s other plants in Japan, China, and Thailand.) In addition, the Texas plant has a technical center to provide better service to our customers.”

Yoda said the Texas plant will stock machines up to 860-m.t. size for delivery in two to three weeks. He added, “In addition to expanding sales channels in North America, we are strengthening sales in Central and South America,” with the help of the new Texas plant. “We are also planning to supply these machines [built in Texas] to Europe in the future.”

The new plant is expected to build around 30 machines this year and 100 or more in the future. Nissei’s overall U.S. sales are around 500 presses a year. The 115,000-ft² plant (officially a new subsidiary called Nissei Plastic Machinery America Inc.) sits on nine acres of land, giving it plenty of room to expand. Yoda expects to build machines up to 3000 tons there in the future but has no plans for U.S. production of all-electric presses.

“This new plant shows that Nissei’s commitment to the U.S. market is very strong,” Yoda said, “and customers here can rely on our support.”