Japanese mold manufacturing in anticipation of the global market
– As a general producer of molds –

The decade following the financial crisis of 2007 – 2008 has truly been an era of hardship for Japanese mold manufacturers.
Cost reduction became an imperative objective for every manufacturing industry, and with product manufacturers in the lead, many molded goods manufacturers relocated their production bases overseas. Local sourcing of molds was pursued alongside this movement, and as a result, the number of mold manufacturers in Japan has now been reduced to approximately 60% of what it was before the financial crisis. Manufacturing knowhow and skills, which had always been the driving force of Japan, were quickly lost in some ten-odd years.
However, the industry is beginning to go back to Japanese-made molds today. This is due to the fact that Japan-made molds are reacknowledged to be essentially one step ahead in terms of the value of “being overwhelmingly low in mold damage rate even through long-term mass production,” not to speak of the precision required during the manufacturing phase. But of course, harsh demands on cost and delivery would never go back to the old days. Circumstances surrounding molds today call for “better products faster and for a lower price” more than ever before.

As such, all of us here at Matsuno are focusing on living up to the role of “general producer of molds”.
We work hard above all, to offer the best mold ever in compliance with the customers’ demands on quality, cost and delivery date by adequately combining domestic and overseas manufacturing. We create superior quality molds without stopping the mass production cycle, by implementing Matsuno’s own quality management program when procuring the parts from and manufacturing the molds overseas.
We are also highly committed to human resources development. A “general producer of molds” needs to understand the entire picture of molds consisting of hundreds of parts, and to be in full grasp of all events leading up to the molding phase where these molds are put to actual use. Many Japanese manufacturing companies ended up losing the human resources bearing such knowledge and experience over the past 10 years. Having been fortunate to survive these difficult years, Matsuno, bearing “the mission of a survivor”, will pass on to subsequent generations all of its inherited experience, and will strive to develop human resources that are well versed in molds and the art of manufacturing using these molds who could become compatible partners of product and mold manufacturers.

Mold making has become increasingly mechanized. These past 10 years, however, clearly showed us that satisfactory mold making will not be accomplished by leaving it entirely to machines. Everyone needs to draw precise horizontal and vertical lines. Craftsmen must never forget to keep the dimensions in mind even while polishing. The fact of the matter is, such processes which are probably the most basic of basics, make the biggest difference in the end. These basics have long been the strength of Japanese people. We here at Matsuno, will inherit this “Japaneseness” with great care while perceiving the global market as our field of activities, and continue undauntedly to manufacture molds that meet the demands of modern society.