Sumitomo Electric Industries Starts Cutting Tool Production in China

Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) and its tool manufacturing subsidiary, Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal Corp., announced on Monday they establish a production base of cutting tools in Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province of China. The new company will produce cemented carbide drills and sintered diamond inserts and supply the products to Chinese and overseas markets. The capital fund is US$ 11.7 million, wholly invested by Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal Corp. The commercial production will start in October 2011.

Sumitomo Electric Hardmetal Corp. rents a plant site and a plant building with 12,000-square-meter floors. The production capacity is scheduled at 15,000 cemented carbide drills per month and 15,000 sintered diamond inserts per month until July 2012 with approximately 1.4 billion yen capex. The firm eyes the second phase expansion along the demand condition. The operation will involve about 120 employees in 2012. The annual sales plan is 1.3 billion yen in fiscal 2012 ending in March 2013 and 3 billion yen in fiscal 2013.

SEI Group’s worldwide production capacity is currently 60,000 cemented carbide drills per month and 30,000 sintered diamond inserts per month. In China, demand for cutting tools is rapidly increasing in various industrial fields, especially among automotive component manufacturers. SEI opens a local production base and meets the strong demand in the country.

SEI Group presently manufactures cemented carbide, CBN (cubic boron nitride) inserts and PCB (printed circuit board) drills in Tianjin and Shanghai while these plants are dedicated to custom-made tools for specialized users. The new plant in Changzhou will produce ISO standard tools and supply the products not only to domestic market but to Europe and Asian countries.