Mori Seiki Breaks Ground on North American Manufacturing Plant

The plant will be Mori Seiki’s first manufacturing facility in North America, and will employee between 100-150 personnel. At capacity, the new facility will produce as many as 100 units per month, focusing on the popular new X-Class line of precision machines. “Our initial targets are our horizontal machining centers – the X-Class NHX4000 and NHX5000 Series,” says Mark Mohr, President of DMG / Mori Seiki USA. “Our next product under consideration is the DMU 50 and potentially other X class machines.”

The plan of locating a new manufacturing facility in the United States is based on the possibility
of the continuing decrease in the exchange rate between the US and Japan. Dr. Masahiko Mori
asserts, “If the value of the US dollar declines, it will become fiscally advantageous to
manufacture machine tools in North America, eliminating the cost of importing from Japan.” The
addition of a new North American factory is expected to offset any disparity in the exchange rate
between the two currencies and would ensure Mori Seiki customers the continued quality,
precision and value they have come to expect in their machine purchase.

Mori Seiki currently operates a total of four factories in the Nara, Mie and Chiba prefectures of
Japan. The company’s manufacturing presence in North America builds upon an existing
overseas unit in Le Locle, Switzerland (DIXI Machines). Mori Seiki acquired DIXI in 2007 to
manufacture and market products under the DIXI brand, but also to expand its capacity in order
to manufacture and sell Mori Seiki branded products.

Manufacturing in the US enhances the company’s existing infrastructure in North America.
Engineering operations are already established in the US at the Digital Technology Laboratories
(DTL) in Davis, CA. Software and machinery has been designed at DTL since 2000, when the
group was launched. Today, the group boasts over 80 employees; the creation of a North
American manufacturing plant creates further opportunity for R&D collaboration in the US.
The Davis, California site offers several other advantages as well. “The west coast location
makes it very easy to work with our Japanese colleagues,” says Mohr. “For instance, we will be
importing ball screws and spindles from our own manufacturing facilities in Japan—not for
purposes of cost saving, but because they’re simply the highest quality.” The nearby UC-Davis
and Berkeley campuses ensure that the available workforce is also top-quality; the area is
regarded as a proving ground for the latest advances in technology, engineering, and computer
sciences.

Mori Seiki remains focused not only on R&D and production, but also on installation and proper
maintenance. Mori Seiki’s recent launch of the Mori360 Total Support package in the United
States and Canada highlights the company’s commitment to complete customer service.
The addition of the new North American factory will raise Mori Seiki's total monthly output
capacity by approximately 100 units to slightly more than 900, preparing Mori Seiki for the
anticipated global expansion of machine tool sales in the coming decade. Construction is slated
for completion in fall of 2012.

Mori Seiki produces extremely reliable machine tools and distributes worldwide. The American
headquarters is in Chicago with offices in Boston, Toronto, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Curitiba, Brazil,
Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Monterrey, Mexico, Mexico City, São Paulo, Brazil, Seattle and San
Francisco. For more about Mori Seiki and the products in the Mori Seiki line, visit the all NEW
www.moriseikius.com or call (847) 593-5400.