2023-06-23 16:46:16
[The Epoch Times, June 24, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Xu Jian) According to a report by Nihon Keizai Shimbun on June 23, Panasonic Holdings, a Japanese multinational electrical appliance manufacturer, decided to The production line of medium and high-end household air conditioners sold in Japan was moved back to Japan from Guangzhou, China.
Panasonic will spend a total of 10 billion yen ($70 million) building new production lines at its local factories, mainly in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, according to a company announcement on Thursday (June 22).
As the first step in relocating production lines from China, Panasonic first brought the manufacture of high-end air conditioners and outdoor compressors back to Japan from Guangzhou, China. Starting in fiscal 2024, the company will move production of mid-range models back to Japan. This means that in fiscal year 2024, regarding 40% of Panasonic’s air-conditioning production capacity will return to Japan.
Panasonic will install automated assembly equipment at the Kusatsu plant to roughly triple its production capacity. The local plant will also automatically inspect finished air conditioners and install robots to assemble compressors to improve efficiency. The company expects the production-to-delivery time to be cut to a quarter compared with the Guangzhou plant.
The Guangzhou factory will use idle capacity to increase Panasonic’s air conditioner production for the Chinese market.
Panasonic said that through the reorganization, the company can deliver products faster and avoid future supply chain disruptions due to the “Coronavirus” (COVID-19) epidemic. It also hopes to promote local production and local sales to improve production and operational efficiency.
Masaharu Michiura, president of Panasonic’s air conditioner R&D and production, said, “In order to provide products close to the market, we decided to return to Japan for domestic production. Of course, we are also aware of (US-China trade friction) geopolitical (geopolitical) ) on the risk.”
Panasonic has set a sales target of 290 billion yen in fiscal year 2024 for equipment that combines air conditioning and ventilation, as well as air conditioning systems for entire buildings, an increase of 20% over fiscal year 2022.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#
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