Global Cases
Sumitomo Shoji Machinex: Connect people, society, and technology to create new value, thus supporting Japanese manufacturing
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Born amid period of rapid economic growth
Sumitomo Shoji Machinex (Machinex) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation. The company has supported Japanese manufacturing for more than half a century since its establishment in 1962.
Over these six decades, Machinex has been committed to providing its original functions to offer new value while building and maintaining relationships of trust with customers and partners. In order to become and continue to be a first-choice supplier or partner in the development of social and industrial infrastructure now and in the future, the company strives to meet the expectations of various entities.
Supporting the automotive industry through manufacturing equipment and in-vehicle devices
Two areas of focus throughout the company's history have been auto production and auto parts. Initially a distributor of power transmission and control (PTC) equipment, Machinex has since gone on to supply a broad array of automotive manufacturing equipment as well as in-vehicle device parts, such as inverters(*1), motors, and power modules(*2), chiefly for EVs.
Today, when the mobility sector is undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation, demand for new types of in-vehicle devices and manufacturing equipment as well as upgraded environmental features is on the rise. Machinex seeks to not only supply the hardware but also proactively offer solutions for this latest challenge facing the automotive industry.
The automotive supply chain consists of numerous processes, ranging from procurement of materials to sales of finished cars(*3) and after-sales services. The business areas of Sumitomo Corporation Group companies cover almost all of these processes, and auto-related departments of the group companies share information by convening regular working groups. As a member of the Sumitomo Corporation Group, Machinex is no exception in that it keeps abreast of the latest auto industry trends.
- inverters: A power supply circuit or device that generates alternating current at different frequencies from direct current or alternating current
- Power module: A component containing several power semiconductors (semiconductors capable of handling high voltages and large currents) connected to provide integrated power-supply circuits
- Finished cars: A finished product in which a complete set of automobile parts is assembled
Branching out to semiconductors and overseas EPC projects
Semiconductor electronics is a new area of focus for the company. Demand for semiconductors is rising exponentially in various industries on the back of the rapid progress of digital transformation (DX) and IoT on a global scale. Machinex supports the world's growing semiconductor production by providing Japanese-made high-performance high-quality manufacturing equipment, components and materials, and testing equipment to major semiconductor manufacturers in China and other regions.
In recent years, Machinex has also embarked on EPC projects overseas. In an EPC project, Machinex becomes the construction work contractor responsible for delivering engineering, procurement and construction services for a facility. The company's first EPC project was the extension work on a line pipe manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia, which was completed in 2015. Machinex provided comprehensive coordination services ranging from the selection of manufacturer to installation of equipment in order to complete this large-scale, custom-made facility, and looks forward to applying the experience gained from the project to other parts of the world.
One of the company's unique domestic projects is the "Azumino Trial Site" opened in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Visitors can try food processing equipment such as cheese cookers (*4) and food equipment washing systems which were mainly imported from overseas by utilizing Sumitomo Corporation's extensive global network. The facility has welcomed a total of more than one hundred Japanese food companies over the five years since its opening. Machinex also arranges opportunities for visitors to talk to expert engineers, as well as presenting business proposals to them.
For more tastily, safer and healthier food culture, and for the reduction of food loss in the manufacturing process, Machinex will contribute Japanese food culture and the technical improvement of food manufacturing.
Machinex will contribute to Japanese food culture and the technical improvement of food manufacturing, with a view to accumulating and utilizing the related knowledge to roll out the Japanese food technology to other manufacturers in Asia and around the world.
Machinex started as a supplier of power transmission and control (PTC) devices designed to reduce the rotary speed of machines and equipment. PTC devices have wide industrial and domestic applications, such as production lines, elevators and playground equipment. As the leading distributor of the country's largest PTC manufacturer, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Machinex has supplied PTC equipment to a vast range of industries worldwide.
Through the supply of energy-efficient top-runner motors(*5) and inverters, Machinex also actively engages in energy conservation to protect the global environment and mitigate global warming.
- Cheese Cooker: Automated equipment for producing food products such as cheese and paste
- energy-efficient top-runner motors: Motors with the highest level of energy consumption efficiency among the motors currently commercialized
October 2022
Keyword
- Japan
- Europe
- CIS
- Middle East, Africa
- The Americas
- Machinery
- Transportation
- Diverse Urban Development Group
