In March 2008, Inside Manufacturing Enterprise offered businesses in the region the opportunity to visit Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd based in Worcester as part of their business to business programme.
20 delegates were given the opportunity to learn more about Mazak's approach to 'Manufacturing Competitively in the UK through Continuous Investment' at their European Manufacturing Plant and European headquarters in Worcester.
Mazak is the world’s largest manufacturer of CNC metal cutting machine tools and manufacturing systems and was the first Japanese machine tool builder to establish a manufacturing facility in Europe that handled all manufacturing operations from raw materials to finished product. This plant is currently the most advanced of its type in Europe, providing machine tools and sophisticated manufacturing systems to customers in more than 30 countries throughout Europe.
The European Manufacturing plant in Worcester was opened in 1987 with an initial output of 32 machines per month and 62 employees. There has been repeated additional investment in the new plant, equipment, facilities and people. Following a further extension in June 2007 the new official capacity of 150 machine tools per month has already been exceeded, with a new record output of 166 machines in October 2007. Mazak has a policy of continuously investing in its factories worldwide.
IME delegates were offered the opportunity to see how Mazak uses its own technology in conjunction with a highly skilled but flexible workforce to enable it to successfully compete in an extremely competitive but cyclical market. During the ½ day visit presentations were given by Dr Damien Cleugh, Marketing Manager and Richard Austin, Yamazaki Mazak's general manager-direct production as well as a full accompanied site tour. The visiting companies found this allowed them to not only witness firsthand how successful business operates but also enabled them to question the actual workforce and managers.
Delegate comments from the day include:
- I think the value of the visit is in the day itself-which was excellently delivered,
- good insight to the Mazak ethos,
- the speakers view was of extreme value and gave warts and all,
- extremely open and informative-well done.
Yamazaki Mazak Uk Ltd have supported the Inside Manufacturing Enterprise programme since its early days and are keen to encourage other companies within the region to share their experiences also.
"We were delighted to once again welcome guests from Inside Manufacturing Enterprise to see Mazak's European Manufacturing plant in Worcester and to share some of our experience with the delegates. We also found the day to be a useful and interesting way to exchange ideas and experiences with other colleagues from manufacturing industry."
Dr Damien Cleugh- European Marketing Manager
For more information on the IME Business to Business visit or the benefits of becoming a host company please contact the IME team on 024 7623 6861 or email Michelle at m.connors@cad.coventry.ac.uk or visit the MAS-WM website.
