NIFCO
New car components factory in UK / Supply contract for Nissan Leaf electric car / Japanese plants did not sustain "fatal damages"
Car components manufacturer Nifco UK (Stockton-on-Tees / UK; www.nifcoeu.com) has started work on the construction of a GBP 8.5m (EUR 9.6m) factory on a brown field site near its current plant. The 11,750 m² injection moulding facility is expected to be completed by November and will start production in the first quarter of 2012. It will create 120 jobs, bringing the total Nifco UK workforce to 300. Nifco says the new premises will incorporate new energy-efficient equipment valued at GBP 11m (EUR 12.5m).
Nifco bought its present factory from Elta Plastics in 1990, but the 44-year old unit is now ergonomically and energy inefficient and cannot support large production machinery. The new premises will allow Nifco to increase capacity and explore new markets. Commenting on the investment, Kyohiko Fukawa, senior managing director at Nifco Inc (Tokyo / Japan; www.nifco.com), said: “These expansion plans are a real vote of confidence for Nifco UK from the parent company in Japan in the quality of the local workforce and their ability to compete internationally.”
The company operates three plants in the quake-hit area of Japan, in Yamagata, Utsonomiya and Sagamihara. So far, Nifco said in a recent statement, "no fatal damage" has hindered its manufacturing activities at the three sites, although the company did say the country's Tohoku region, which comprises Yamagata, was in dire need of electricity supply and a recovery of proper logistic functions. It remains unclear how the natural catastrophes will affect Japanese car component manufacture in the long run – see Plasteurope.com of 29.03.2011 and of 04.04.2011.
Nifco UK currently has a turnover of some GBP 30m (EUR 34m) and the new factory is expected to lift this by around 50% by 2013. It ships to 230 customers each month, covering 26 global locations. One of the key factors in the decision to go ahead with the new plant, however, is its close relationship with the Nissan car production operation in nearby Sunderland. Some 2.5m parts are supplied to that plant monthly and Nifco has recently completed a deal to supply components for Nissan’s new Leaf electric car, which is to be built at the Sunderland site.
Regional development agency One North East (Newcastle-upon-Tyne / UK; www.onenortheast.co.uk) contributed GBP 1m to Nifco’s investment at the new site. The company has also made a bid for funding of GBP 1.65m from the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund to support its investment in the latest energy-efficient machines.
Nifco bought its present factory from Elta Plastics in 1990, but the 44-year old unit is now ergonomically and energy inefficient and cannot support large production machinery. The new premises will allow Nifco to increase capacity and explore new markets. Commenting on the investment, Kyohiko Fukawa, senior managing director at Nifco Inc (Tokyo / Japan; www.nifco.com), said: “These expansion plans are a real vote of confidence for Nifco UK from the parent company in Japan in the quality of the local workforce and their ability to compete internationally.”
The company operates three plants in the quake-hit area of Japan, in Yamagata, Utsonomiya and Sagamihara. So far, Nifco said in a recent statement, "no fatal damage" has hindered its manufacturing activities at the three sites, although the company did say the country's Tohoku region, which comprises Yamagata, was in dire need of electricity supply and a recovery of proper logistic functions. It remains unclear how the natural catastrophes will affect Japanese car component manufacture in the long run – see Plasteurope.com of 29.03.2011 and of 04.04.2011.
Nifco UK currently has a turnover of some GBP 30m (EUR 34m) and the new factory is expected to lift this by around 50% by 2013. It ships to 230 customers each month, covering 26 global locations. One of the key factors in the decision to go ahead with the new plant, however, is its close relationship with the Nissan car production operation in nearby Sunderland. Some 2.5m parts are supplied to that plant monthly and Nifco has recently completed a deal to supply components for Nissan’s new Leaf electric car, which is to be built at the Sunderland site.
Regional development agency One North East (Newcastle-upon-Tyne / UK; www.onenortheast.co.uk) contributed GBP 1m to Nifco’s investment at the new site. The company has also made a bid for funding of GBP 1.65m from the UK government’s Regional Growth Fund to support its investment in the latest energy-efficient machines.
07.04.2011 Plasteurope.com [219045-0]
Published on 07.04.2011