HORIBA, Ltd. (Head Office: 2 Miyanohigashi, Kisshoin, Minami-ku, Kyoto, Japan; President & COO: Masayuki Adachi; hereinafter, “HORIBA”) today announced that it will build a new facility for HORIBA Instruments (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in the industrial zone of the Jiading District of Shanghai, China. Construction begins in December 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in April 2021. The new facility will have a measuring and testing laboratory for automobiles, a scientific analysis applications center, and a technical center to support the entire life cycles of our products. It will enable HORIBA to directly ascertain the needs of our customers in the Chinese market. The HORIBA Group will expand its business presence in the rapidly changing and growing Chinese market by providing everything from application development through production and after-sales service, geared to local demand.
Background
China’s automotive industry is expected to be a driver of economic growth; accordingly, the Chinese government is working to further advance this industry by 2025. Against that backdrop, automotive manufacturers need to practice accelerated development and quickly bring products to market for both the new energy vehicle (NEV) and the conventional internal combustion engine fields. The Jiading District is designated as a strategic area for NEV development (“Accelerating the Development and Commercialization of Fuel Cell Vehicles in China” project) and serves as China’s largest automotive industrial area. This location positions HORIBA where it can provide optimized applications through rapidly identifying the latest requirements of various organizations, including China’s R&D and certification institutions, automakers, and parts manufacturers.
In other industries, there is demand for prompt supply of products that are geared toward initiatives for environmental regulations in monitoring air and water quality, for rapid responses to the wide-ranging demands of semiconductor device and equipment manufacturers (whose domestic production is promoted in China), and for providing new added value, such as applications and failure analysis.
To ensure that we can quickly respond to this dizzying pace of change in the market, HORIBA decided to establish a new facility that could provide support for the life cycles of our products, from product supply to services related to not just after-sales support but also data management and product replacement.
Key functions
- Measuring and Testing Laboratory for Automobiles
HORIBA will introduce evaluation systems for fuel cells and batteries similar to CELL 0 (zero), which was established at HORIBA BIWAKO E-HARBOR (Otsu, Shiga, Japan) in November, this year. The facility will also be equipped with chassis dynamometers and drivetrain evaluation systems. This will enable us to freely combine and test powertrains (including engines, motors, and drivelines) with batteries and fuel cells, either using actual vehicles or by way of simulations. We will use this testing laboratory as a key engineering center for the HORIBA Group to develop applications that meet customer needs and to propose total solutions to customers, not just in China but worldwide.
- Scientific Analysis Applications Center
This Center will leverage the current positioning of the Jiading District as China’s new energy development hub through developing applications in collaboration with universities and companies, providing materials analysis and testing support, and conducting the analysis training that is essential for the development activities of our customers. Leveraging the collective strengths of HORIBA’s vast array of businesses will allow us to lead the world in providing solutions that incorporate the analysis and application know-how that we possess across all of our business segments.
- Production Plant
The Chinese government is implementing environmental policies and has notified its own requirements for the monitoring of air and water quality. By enabling HORIBA to promptly provide products that conform to environmental policies and regulations in the constantly changing China market, the new plant will strengthen localization through local production and bolster the supply of gas and water quality monitoring instruments.
In the Semiconductor segment, HORIBA will establish a production system for mass flow controllers (for gases and liquids in the semiconductor manufacturing process), for the Chinese market.
- Technical Center
The Technical Center will provide services optimized to product life cycles, including everything from product installation through after-sales service, in the Automotive Test Systems, Process & Environmental, Semiconductor, and Scientific segments. HORIBA also plans to incorporate repair and calibration facilities, and a technical training center, to support all facets of our customers’ business activities.
About the facility
| Construction site | Jiading District, Shanghai |
| Construction period | Starts December 2019 for completion in April 2021 |
| Start of operation | Slated for June 2021 |
| Building structure | Four stories; reinforced concrete |
| Building area | Total floor area of 33,000m2 |
| Facilities | Office building (four-storied), Development and Production building (four-storied), Measuring and Testing Laboratory for Automobiles (three-storied; testing lab on the first floor, machine rooms on the second to third floors), Large Adjustment Laboratory (one-storied) |
| Total construction cost | Approx. 9 billion yen |
