  
Recently the Grand Opening ceremony for DIXI Machines took place in Le Locle in Switzerland. About 150 guests attended, including Mr. Abe, the Japanese Ambassador to Switzerland,
Mr. De la Reusille, the Mayor of Le Locle, and Mr. Soguel, the Economy Minister for Neuchatel.
The first day of the Grand Opening was extremely cold, with record sub-zero temperatures, but more than 700 customers visited during the four days from October 23 to 26, 2007. During the plant tours they were able to see for themselves DIXI Machines' emphasis on precision and their excellent service system.
Welcome from Dr. Mori, President of Mori Seiki
The cutting of the tape
Friendly discussions in the Showroom
Plant tour (scraping)
Plant tour (assembly area)
DIXI Machines is one of the world's leading machine tool manufacturers, producing tools of extremely high quality and precision from our base in Le Locle, Neuchatel in the northwest region of Switzerland. Surrounded by mountains and with a population of about 10,000, Le Locle is famous for producing high-class wristwatches. DIXI Machines was established there in 1904 as a manufacturer of machine tools for watch parts. In 1948 we developed the world's first horizontal jig borer, exhibiting it at the Basel Trade Show, and this
became the basis of our subsequent growth as a machine tool manufacturer.
These days boring machines which use tables with indexing mechanisms and Z-axis feed structures are common, but at the time it represented a revolutionary improvement in productivity and precision. This allowed us to establish an unshakable position as a specialist manufacturer of horizontal jig borers.
In January 2007 DIXI Machines started operation as a division of Mori Seiki International. We have been integrating the Mori Seiki systems, improving production methods, purchasing new equipment, reviewing the parts procurement systems and so on, while keeping our uncompromising attitude in pursuit of high precision.
The reason the DIXI Machines name is known worldwide is our attitude of manufacturing high-precision machine tools which others can’t match. Our production plant is an air-conditioned factory whose temperature is kept at a constant 20 °C <±0.2 °C> (68 °F <±0.36 °F>) all year round. What is more, our skilled technicians conduct at least 500 hours of scraping on every machine, and we measure every point of all the machines' parts. And we calibrate all the measuring instruments which we use in our Metrology Center, which has been accredited by METAS, the Swiss Federal Office of Metrology. As a result, while other companies' high-quality machines have positioning accuracy of 5 μm, DIXI machines' positioning accuracy is 1/5 of that at 0.99 μm. This level of precision is equivalent to that of 3D measuring instruments. And DIXI machines maintain the same high precision for many years after they have been installed in the customer’s factory. A sturdy body and high precision which doesn’t change over time - those are the key features of DIXI Machines.
DIXI Machines, the Mori Seiki Group's first overseas production base, has renovated our 14,900 m2 (160,383.6 ft2) plant, upgraded our production equipment, and more than doubled the size of our machine assembly area from 1,800 m2 (19,375.2 ft2) to 3,742 m2 (40,278.9 ft2). In the 1,583 m2 (17,039.4 ft2) machining area, we installed large 5-face machines for machining large cast iron parts such as beds, columns and saddles, a DHP 80 + an 11-station CPP system for machining medium-sized parts such as tables, spindle head housings and pallets, and Taiyo Koki's grinding machines (2units) for machining spindle parts. In 2008 we are planning to install Mori Seiki's latest model, the NT6600 DCG, for turning. Also, by completely renovating the office area <1,040 m2 (11,194.6 ft2)> and
the locker room <265 m2 (2,852.5 ft2)>, and building a parking lot (for up to 103 cars) and a cafeteria <256 m2 (2,755.6 ft2)>, we have improved the working environment and welfare facilities. We have also built a new showroom <592 m2 (6,372.3 ft2)> and a training center <237 m2 (2,551.1 ft2)>.
In the future, we will increase production of DIXI brand machines from 5 units per month to 10.
Also, by utilizing the renovated assembly area <1,430 m2 (15,392.5 ft2)>, from October 2007 we have started knock-down production of the NMV5000 DCG. We will gradually increase the production volume for the NMV Series, and plan to reach at least 10 units per month from next fiscal year. We also intend to double the size of our work force from the current 100 during the next year, in order to strengthen our production capacity and our service system. DIXI Machines will continue to expand, functioning as the nucleus for the European market and as an important production, sales and service base as part of the Mori Seiki Group's overseas strategy.
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NEWS/NEWSLETTERS/2007 Vol.4
