Shibaura Machine India Opens its New Factory with an Investment of Rs 225 Crore to Triple Its Manufacturing Capacity

From left to right: M Kumar, MD, SMI, Chennai; Shigetomo Sakamoto, President and Hiroaki Ota, CFO of Shibaura Machine Group, Japan

SMI has a world class facility in Chembarambakkam that manufactures about 1200 injection moulding machines and auxiliary equipment in a year. The machines find their applications in automotive, electrical, household & furniture, material handling, medical, packaging, preforms, PVC, toys, writing instruments, and other industries. The company has a growing customer base in India and over 45 countries in North America, the Middle East, East & West Africa, and the SAARC region. With the new factory, the manufacturing capacity of SMI will be increased to 4000 units a year in a phased manner.

SMI began its operations in 2012 with the takeover of the plastics machinery business of Larsen & Toubro founded in 1990. The company has laid the foundation stone for the construction of a new manufacturing facility at a sprawling 11+ acres, adjacent to its existing plant in November, 2022. In the next 3-4 years, SMI is expected to create new jobs, increasing the team size. In addition, about 50 MSME vendors will be developed to support the capacity expansion.

The unit 2 factory features: a) technical demo centre to showcase its products in running condition with customers mould, b) clean and fully air-conditioned factory capable of producing electric injection moulding machines with latest technology, c) green certified infrastructure with roof top solar and other energy saving systems, d) state-of-the-art high-human safety painting facility, e) high load capacity and high ceiling height for the production of extra-large injection moulding machines of up to 3500 tonnes, f) simple and flexible factory capable of producing not just injection moulding machines but also a variety of machines in response to changes in the market.

Announcing inauguration of its Unit 2 factory, Mr. Shigetomo Sakamoto, President, Shibaura Machine Group, Japan, said, "India has been a strategic investment destination for us, and it represents a growing market for our products. However, what make the country even more attractive are its skilled and dedicated people. Over the years, the teams in Japan and India have nurtured a strong and fruitful partnership - as a result, SMI is able to carry out improvements in manufacturing processes, increase production, and bring to market the latest Japanese technology, all quite effectively and quickly. SMI has been recognised with the prestigious Shibaura Machine's President Award for its performance and technology innovation. The Indian unit has won this coveted prize twice in three years. We are confident of what our Indian team can achieve in design, manufacturing, and customer service, in the years to come. We are equally committed to the government's Make in India program. Our new unit 2 factory will see doubling of production capacity, and rapid strides in the adoption of advanced material technology, control, mechatronics, and IoT in our Indian factories, in the next three years."

In his comments, Mr. M. Kumar, Managing Director, SMI, said, "As we celebrate this inauguration, we remember the tremendous faith our parent company, Shibaura Machine Co., LTD has reposed on us, and their support in our growth. Since the commencement of our operations in 2012, SMI carried out improvements in manufacturing processes and increased production capacity from 600 to 1200 machines per year and tripled sales revenue. We have made steady progress year after year, and crossed the milestone of selling our 10,000^th machine in 2019 and 14,000^th machine in Oct 2023. With the new investment, we will continue to grow our capacity and team. We will add new products, and increase our customer base, buoyed by the track record of being able to meet varied requirements of our customers and the stringent standards of importing countries USA, Africa, Middle East, Europe, South & Southeast Asia."

Shibaura Machine Group was founded in 1938 as Shibaura Machine Tool Company with investment from Shibaura Engineering Works (now Toshiba Corporation). It changed its name to Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. in 1961. Later, in 2020, the company was rechristened as Shibaura Machine Co., Ltd. after becoming fully independent from the Toshiba Group in 2017. It has been a market leader and industry benchmark in high precision injection moulding machines in the world. Its product portfolio also includes Die casting machines, Extrusion machines, Machine tools, High precision machine tools, Micro pattern imprinting machines, High precision optical glass mould press machines, Industrial robots, Electronic control systems, and Castings, etc.

Shibaura Machine entered into manufacturing in India in 2012, acquiring 100% stake in L&T Plastics Machinery Limited, then market leader in hydraulic injection moulding machines in India. It was incorporated as Toshiba Machine Chennai private Limited, and in 2020, it was renamed Shibaura Machine India Private Limited.

In 2019, the company has won the 10^th National Awards, instituted by the Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers, for Technology Innovation in Petrochemicals & Downstream Plastics Processing Industry, for its 'multi-colour/material' Injection Moulding machine meant for the production of anti-counterfeit articles. For this innovation, SMI also won the coveted President's Award from Shibaura Machine.

SMI is strongly committed to CSR. As part of its skill development program, the company is running a Basic Training Provider program, recognised by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, to provide on job training to Class 10-12 students. Till now 100+ students were qualified for internships under the National Apprenticeship Certificate Scheme. It has constructed buildings for government schools, and funded overhead water tanks and roads in villages.