TAIYO Stainless Spring (Tokyo) opened the Tochigi Chizuka Factory (Tochigi City), which specializes in plastic molding, in October 2018. In response to the demand for processed plastic products due to the weight reduction of automobile parts and the increase of electrical components, they currently manufacture about 6 billion pieces of about 20,000 kinds of products annually. The new base will also strengthen metal and plastic composite parts.
The company manufactures a wide range of spring forming and stamped products, and the products are supplied from automobile parts to IT equipment and industrial equipment fields. There are 6 manufacturing bases in Japan.
The Tochigi Chizuka Factory, which is responsible for plastic molding, has a site of 5,000 square meters and a building area of 2,600 square meters. They own about 20 injection molding machines, from small machines to 150 ton class machines, and laid out a series of processes from material stockyard to molding, inspection, and packing in a straight line.
They manufacture and maintain the molds necessary for molding at the factory in Saitama Prefecture, but eventually they will do it at the Chizuka factory and transfer the function of the distribution center for processed plastic products. And they are also looking at integrated production of composite parts including assembly in the factory by accepting metal processed products manufactured in other factories.
They are also considering the introduction of robots in the future, aiming for high quality and improved automation.
Shinji Wada, factory manager, said as follows. "We were able to open it at a good time, such as the domestic return of the manufacturing industry and the increase in demand for plastic products such as EV shift. Plastic products can form shapes that are difficult with metal, and recent plastic materials are improving in durability. In addition to the automobile industry, demand for telecommunications and housing equipment can also be expected. There is room for expansion of the factory
