Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) will split off its machine tools business to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Sales Co., Ltd., in Osaka, in an absorption-type company split. The initiative aims to enhance responsiveness to changes in market demand and to expedite corporate decision-making by integrating machine tool manufacturing and marketing into a single entity, effectively increasing the company's ability to compete in the global market.

In effecting this change, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool Sales Co. the successor company of machine tool business, will move its head office from Osaka to the current Machine Tools Division Office in Ritto, Shiga Prefecture. With machine tool business assets transferred from MHI, it will become a company with more than 1,000 employees.

The demand structure of the machine tool market has undergone dramatic change in Japan and other countries. In order to cope with this changed business environment, machine tool companies have endeavored to enhance their competitiveness through expeditious decision-making that leverages their strengths as dedicated machine tool companies. Furthermore, in order to expand their business, companies have had to increase their management flexibility and responsiveness to customers.

Making a fresh start as a dedicated machine tool company, the successor company will implement a flexible management structure that expedites decision-making, clarifies business responsibility, enhances responsiveness to changes in market environment and customer needs, and accelerates the strengthening and expansion of its business.

Moving forward, MHI will closely liaise with the successor company and fully support its business development.

Announced the same day was news that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. will transfer its hydraulic machinery and particle accelerator products businesses, effective Oct. 1, 2015, and ITS (intelligent transport systems) business, effective November 1, 2015, to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mechatronics Systems, Ltd. (MHI-MS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of MHI in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. The initiatives aim at expanding and stabilizing these businesses, enabling deeper cultivation of markets through amalgamation with MHI-MS's machinery and steel structure products.

Transfer of the relevant businesses will be effected by the absorption-type company split method. The specific businesses to be transferred to MHI-MS include: hydraulic machinery currently handled by the Yamatomachi Plant at MHI's Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works, including hydraulic components, deck cranes, testing equipment and air-heaters that use hydraulic systems; accelerators that are mainly manufactured at MHI's Mihara Machinery Works; and ITS related products that are mainly handled by Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works, including highway toll collection systems, ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) systems and road traffic control systems.

Hydraulic machinery and accelerator manufacturing will continue to be carried out at current production bases. For these businesses, more synergistic business development will be pursued by leveraging a wide range of resources across MHI group companies.

After the integration of the businesses, MHI-MS will proactively apply hydraulic technologies to testing and inspection machinery, and to equipment for culture, sports, and leisure facilities. In addition, it will actively work to bring new types of hydraulic products and systems to the market. With respect to the accelerator product business, which until now has been focused primarily on the supply of accelerator tubes, the company will develop and supply a range of system products that incorporate both accelerator and mechatronics technologies.

With respect to ITS, MHI has until now handled new installation and renewal work for domestic and overseas projects, while MHI-MS has handled maintenance work in the domestic market. Integration of all these activities at MHI-MS is expected to increase customer convenience, as well as boost overall operational efficiency. In addition, MHI-MS will accelerate its efforts to develop new parking system products, and will make its existing multistory parking systems and testing equipment more attractive to the market by leveraging its overseas business capability and information communication technology.

MHI-MS was founded to handle the development, design, manufacturing, and after-sales service of machinery and environmental systems. Through the reorganization of MHI Group companies, MHI-MS has expanded into multistory parking systems and steel structure products. Now, spurred by the business expansion announced today, MHI-MS will further pursue effective use of human resources and work to strengthen its competitiveness in the market.

Moving forward, MHI will closely liaise with MHI-MS and fully support its business development.

Note

Particle accelerators are used to accelerate charged particles such as electrons, positrons and protons to high energy levels, and are widely utilized as research tools in nuclear physics, particle physics and synchrotron radiation physics. Accelerating tubes are core components of these accelerators, and normal conductivity and superconductivity accelerating tubes play an important role at research institutes in Japan and other countries.