The awards ceremony for the 2005 Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards was held at the Hotel Okura Tokyo on February 2. The ceremony was attended by leading global companies in many fields, and of the many products nominated, the only machine tool to receive an Award for Excellence was the NT Series.
This award is given to outstanding new products and services once a year. This year marks the 24th time the award has been given since its inception in 1982. Not only are producer and consumer goods in the running, but a total of 45 products are selected from fields as diverse as software and financial products, of which 21 receive the Award for Excellence after undergoing scrutiny by the judging committee. This is not the first time Mori Seiki has been honored with this award - the NV5000 Vertical Machining Center, the forerunner of the N Series, received one of the 2002 Nikkei Superior Products and Services Awards/Nikkei Business Daily Awards for Excellence. Nominations are not made based on public suggestions, but rather from products in the Nikkei new products database or which are listed in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, Nikkei MJ and Nihon Keizai Kinyu Shimbun.
We believe that for the NT Series of integrated mill turn centers, which incorporates a variety of unique technological innovations such as "Driven at the Center of Gravity (DCG™)" for more advanced machining in fields such as automobiles and aircraft, to receive this award is a sign that it is highly valued as a producer good which has had a strong impact on industry and society.
Current integrated mill turn centers are under pressure to deliver greater basic performance in turning and milling, as well as in machining of complex shapes using five-axis control, polishing and gear machining. In order to bring out the best fundamental machining performance, including the turning power of a lathe and the milling power of a machining center, Mori Seiki had to reevaluate all previous conceptions of how such machines are designed. By using DCG™ and the Box-in-Box Construction of the NH Series of horizontal machining centers, and making it possible to mount the turret with the built-in milling motor™ from the NL Series of CNC lathes, we have succeeded in creating the ultimate integrated mill turn center, fusing all these different functions without compromising performance. The result is 1.4 times better cutting performance than before, which is one area that was singled out for particular praise.
The Chiba Campus, where the NT Series is made, is currently operating at full capacity thanks to all the orders we have received. In May we are planning on opening our No. 2 Plant, boosting our total monthly production capacity to 70 units from the current 50. At Mori Seiki, we are going to set up a production system that will meet customer needs even faster than before.
Machine tools are not something the ordinary consumer comes in contact with every day, so it is all the more significant for Mori Seiki that the NT Series has received this award together with other products which have created waves in society. We are deeply grateful, and believe that this would not have been possible without the support of many people involved in manufacturing. It is also gratifying to see many of Mori Seiki's customers among the other recipients. It is amazing to think that many of these best-selling products were madeusing Mori Seiki machines. We will continue to offer high-quality products that will leave all our customers happy that they bought Mori Seiki machine tools.
