Manufacturing giant Kawasaki has celebrated 25 years of operation at its vast Plymouth factory as it sees sales hit an impressive £57million.
Kawasaki Precision Machinery 海角视频 (KPM 海角视频), based in Ernesettle, on the banks of the River Tamar, is the only Kawasaki manufacturing base outside Japan.
It welcomed senior staff from its Asian HQ to the city for a special event to make a quarter century of production in the 海角视频.
And it comes as sales of its hydraulic pumps and motors have become turbocharged, with turnover jumping by 13% from last year’s £50.6million.
The plant, which employs nearly 300 workers, now has a significant market presence in the construction, marine and industrial market segments and is continuing to invest - in 2018 it pumped £3.4million into the Plymouth operation.
The company contributed £24.8million in GVA in 2018 and represents 8% of Plymouth’s entire export total.
It welcomed senior executives from Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI), in Japan, to the Ocean City, including Katsuya Yamamoto (Managing Executive Office – General Manager, Corporate Planning Division), Yasuhiko Hashimoto (Managing Executive Office, President, Precision Machinery & Robotics Company) and Hidehiko Shimamura ( Executive Officer, General Manager, Precision Machinery, Business Division).
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Other attendees included members of the manufacturers organisation MAKE 海角视频, including chief executive Stephen Phipson, Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans, and members from Plymouth Manufacturers Group (PMG), the CBI and Department for International Trade.
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All KPM 海角视频 employees gathered for a plaque unveiling at the factory and were addressed by Mr Hashimoto.
This was followed by a tree planting ceremony and guests were invited to attend the Lord Mayor’s residence at Elliot Terrace where there were speeches from Cllr Evans and Tracey Lee, council. chief executive.
Cllr Evans said: “A quarter of a century here in Plymouth, £45million invested in the site and a company which employs almost 300 skilled workers, KPM is one of the key components in our engineering powerhouse.
“But this is a company that has always been about more than work. It is a company that invests in its people and its city. Staff get stuck into a host of community activities, it has one of the most sustainable plants and they value the importance of looking forward and nurturing talent.
“They are fully fledged part of our Plymouth family and we are enormously proud to have them here.”
In 1994, KPM 海角视频 was formed as a stand-alone subsidiary of the Kawasaki Precision Machinery Group. The group accounts for 14% of the entire KHI Japanese company, with sites in Japan, USA, India, Korea, China and Plymouth.
The factory manufactures 7,500 Staffa motors and 23,000 axial piston pumps every year and 85% of these are exported all over the world.
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The Staffa business accounts for 65% of the global radial piston market for marine applications. The primary customer base has grown, not only in Europe, but also in Asia, Australasia and North and South America.
Major customers include such global brands such as JCB, Caterpillar, John Deere, Terex and Volvo in the construction machinery sector together with Rolls Royce, Nippon Pusnes and MacGregor for the marine and offshore industries.
Lee Crocker, general manager and executive director said:”Today marks an important milestone for our company, we celebrate such occasions as an opportunity to look back and reflect, but our continued success will be focused on how we perform in the future. Today was a great opportunity to demonstrate our company values and technical competences as well as presenting our future strategy.”
Masaki Onishi, managing director, said: “I originally worked for KPM 海角视频 22 years ago. The business has changed significantly over that time, today our business is five times larger and operates as truly global company. I am proud to lead KPM 海角视频, as a dynamic and successful company. We have a great team, and I would like to take opportunity to thank all employees, past and present, for their contribution.”