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Nidec buys Mitsubishi gear-making machinery business
The Japanese electric motor and drives manufacturer Nidec is buying Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ machine tools business for a reported 30 billion yen ($285m). The business, which manufactures machine tools, cutting tools and related products, is the Japanese market-leader in gear cutting and grinding machinery, with about 60% of the market, and has manufacturing operations in in China, the US and India, as well as in Japan.
MHI Machine Tool employs around 1,400 people and in the year to March 2020 achieved sales worth 40.3bn yen ($380m). This figure is expected to drop to 23.1bn yen ($219m) in the year to March 2021.
Nidec says that the acquisition will strengthen its capabilities for manufacturing gears, especially for its E-axle drive system for electric vehicles (EVs), which combines a motor, inverter and reducer. It has already sold more than 100,000 E-axles, and has set itself the target of winning 40-45% of the global market for EV traction drives by 2030.
Nidec adds that the acquired business will also complement its existing Nidec-Shimpo business, which already produces reduction gearboxes. It plans to expand its machine tool activities and says that “with necessary investment”, the business will play “a major global role in our group”. It is hoping it will generate sales worth 10 trillion yen by 2030.
MHI Machine Tool started operations in 1936 as a lathe manufacturer. It now focuses on machine tools, micro-milling machines, large machines, including the world’s largest gantry milling machine, laser-based products such as 3D printers and wafer-bonding machines, and precision tools.
The deal is expected to close in May 2021.
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