Niigata Machinery Co. Ltd., the injection molding machinery side of Japan's Niigata Machine Techno Co. Ltd., is now part of China's Haitian International Holdings.
Founded in 1895 in Niigata City, Niigata Machinery Co. (NMC) is making a fresh start as part of a group of companies that also includes Haitian Plastics Machinery Group Co. Ltd., the biggest manufacturer of injection molding machines in the world.
The business is now called Niigata Kikai Co. Ltd., but a company spokesman says it goes by NMC. As part of Haitian's holdings, the company will be able to disseminate the global experience and technology that Niigata cultivated for 128 years.
"By combining the craftsmanship of Niigata with the development power of China's overwhelming market orientation, we will take on the challenge of becoming Niigata, which is truly appreciated around the world," a website translation says.
The announcement was made in 2023 in the very low-key website post only, making it a surprise for many, even though Niigata and Haitian Plastics Machinery Group have collaborated in the past.
The two press builders established a joint venture in 2017 with Haitian supplying frames and castings to Niigata in Japan, according to Steve Cunningham, general manager of Niigata Machine Techno USA's injection molding division, a wholly owned subsidiary in Elk Grove Village, Ill.
A year ago, Niigata Machine Techno spun off the injection molding machinery side of its business into a separate company. At the time, a news release about the spinoff didn't mention the change in ownership. Cunningham explained how that unfolded.
"In March, they moved from a partnership to where there was some ownership of some stock by Haitian International Holdings Co. to where they purchased it and spun it off away from Niigata Machine Techno, which is a machine tool company," Cunningham said in a phone interview with Plastics News. "So the injection molding and machine tools are completely separate companies."
In addition to the change in ownership of NMC, the deal also means that the previously existing joint venture is now 100 percent owned by Haitian International Holdings.
"Nothing has changed really to the development or production of Niigata machines," Cunningham said. "They're made in Japan and they're considered Japanese machines. They've got all-Japanese drives and amps, motors and controllers. It's the same thing we've been doing for 25 years or so of making Niigata all-electric machines [MDS series]. ... They retained everybody at the [Niigata] factory and the company hasn't changed at all."
Niigata is moving ahead with a previously announced plan to build a new facility in Japan. That project will house the technology and staff needed to support a strategic growth plan to build larger injection molding machines, ranging from 500 tons to 1,000 tons of clamping force.
The expansion is progressing in Niigata City. The site is about 100 miles south of the epicenter of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan on Jan. 1.
"The small machine factory is completely done and they're making machines 150 tons and down in that factory," Cunningham said.
"For the new factory, they're in the middle of demolishing one building and building another one for the big machines. I don't know if the earthquake helped with the demo. They said the factory had virtually no damage, but there is some damage around Niigata City, where the factory is. We checked in and they said everybody is fine. Nobody was hurt," he said.
A series of powerful earthquakes have left at least 62 people dead in western Japan and damaged thousands of buildings, homes and vehicles.
The new facility, which is on track to open in 2025, will consolidate all aspects of the injection molding business from research, design and engineering to fabrication, manufacturing and warehousing.
Niigata Machinery has been in the midst of a major growth surge for its MDS8000 all-electric injection molding machines that could not be supported by the existing facility, Cunningham has said.
The new facility in Japan is expected to support growth and shorten lead times throughout North America.
Haitian also has a production facility in Mexico aimed at serving North America. The 290,625-square-foot plant in Acatlán de Juárez has 160 full-time employees and sits on land that Haitian owns. The plant has annual capacity to build 1,000 machines, ranging from 60-530 metric tons.
The ownership stake change has no effect on U.S. distributors, Cunningham said. Niigata Machine Techno USA sells Niigata presses and Worcester, Mass.-based Absolute Haitian Corp. sells Haitian presses.
Absolute Haitian President Glenn W. Frohring also told PN that Niigata operates independently in terms of sales and service in North America.