Nordson purchases extrusion die assets of Kodama Chemical Industry
Nordson Corporation today announced that it has purchased certain assets of Kodama Chemical Industry Co Ltd, a licensed distributor for Nordson’s EDI business in Japan for 20 years and will draw on the organisation’s extensive technical and manufacturing capabilities to establish a new division to supply and support its extrusion die customers in Japan and Taiwan and provide remanufacturing services there and throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Nordson Corporation acquired EDI in June of this year.
Nordson EDI Japan will provide new-die sales to extrusion processors, web converters and OEMs in Japan and Taiwan and carry out final manufacturing steps on new equipment to enhance die performance and accommodate local requirements. Included will be the full range of Nordson EDI flat dies, feedblocks, and related equipment for film, sheet, extrusion coating and fluid coating. Die remanufacturing will be available to customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region from a fully equipped facility in Saitama, Japan.
Nordson has appointed head of Kodama’s sales team Hidemaro Takehara as general manager of Nordson EDI Japan. He will lead an experienced group of selected Kodama employees, long familiar to customers in the region, that are expected to join Nordson EDI Japan to continue operations of the new organisation. Sales and customer support staff have relocated to a new office in Tokyo.
“Nordson EDI recognises that, for extrusion processors and web converters every day of lost production time means a substantial reduction in the output of saleable goods,” says Godfrey M. Sandham, vice president and general manager of Nordson EDI. “By establishing a new division in Japan we will help customers in the Asia-Pacific to maximise productivity and reduce downtime by having regional access to support and remanufacturing services.”
Nordson EDI Japan will work with its network of agents in the Asia-Pacific region. Customers in China will continue to obtain sales and remanufacturing services from Nordson EDI Precision Dies (Shanghai) Co Ltd which recently moved to a larger facility.
From the Saitama facility Nordson EDI will be able to meet all of its customers’ remanufacturing needs from flow surface repairs and refinishing to incorporation of whole new subsystems including automatic gauge profiling. Remanufacturing plays a critical role in the working life of a flat die, enabling the extrusion processor or converter to maintain high levels of productivity, minimise downtime for maintenance and prevent product defects.