On November 7, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of Mori Seiki Manufacturing, a recently completed machine tool factory in Davis, California. The factory, a first for the company in America, is producing Mori Seiki NHX4000, NHX5000 and NHX5500 machines. More than 40 percent of the components of these machines are produced domestically, the company says, adding that domestic content will increase as it secures additional suppliers. To maintain economic and environmental standards, the temperature-controlled facility uses only dry and minimum quantity lubricant (MQL) machining.
In addition to producing the NHX machines, the plant will serve as a showplace of advanced, sustainable manufacturing and automation. In his comments at the ceremony, Dr. Masahiko Mori, president of Mori Seiki Co., Ltd. and a member of the Supervisory Board of Gildemeister AG, described the new factory as a resource not only for manufacturers seeking horizontal machining centers, but also as a collaborative partner for general manufacturing concerns, such as factory automation. Dr. Mori used the occasion to note that the investment represented by this new plant projects continuing prosperity and support for the U.S. manufacturing sector.
