Komori gears up production at new Tsukuba plant

Six months after opening its new high technology factory in Tsukuba, Japan, Komori Corporation has geared up production to meet significant growth in demand for its offset presses worldwide.

By opening up the next phase of assembly and testing lines at Tsukuba, Komori has boosted production of its flagship Lithrone S40, which continues to break records in the B1 market.  Production has also been increased at the Yamagata Plant not only to reflect the impact of the new Lithrone S29 launched at IPEX, probably Komori's most successful press debut to date, but also the popularity of the 4-colour SPICA series. Over 100 presses have been ordered worldwide in the last 10 weeks.

At 38,500m2, the Tsukuba plant is Komori's largest factory and its capacity allows the company to keep pace with targeted increased manufacturing over the next 10-15 years. The plant combines manufacturing, assembly, testing, R&D, demo and training facilities. Innovative production techniques ensure highly efficient design, manufacturing and delivery.

‘Komori's strategy of investing heavily in the continued development of high performance and technically excellent presses, supported by the most advanced manufacturing capability, is central to our success and strong international growth,’ explained Mr Yoshiharu Komori, president and CEO, Komori Corporation. ‘Our performance and profitability shows that these investments are paying off. Sales have risen 13.5 per cent in the last year to Yen 127bn (approx. 635m and Euro 920m), net income (profit after tax) has risen 25.4 per cent to Yen 7.9bn (approx. 39.5m and Euro 57m) and we are on track to exceed our target of Yen 150bn (750m and Euro1.09bn) turnover in the next 3 years.’

Komori has experienced impressive international expansion with 64 per cent of total turnover made to export markets. American sales have increased by 24 per cent while Europe continued to be an important region for Komori. In addition to maintaining a solid presence in Western Europe, a substantial part of Komori's sales boost in the region is attributed to considerable investment by printers in the new markets of Eastern Europe. Investment in Komori web offset presses in the region is particularly strong.