8INDIAREVIEWFEBRUARY - 2025NIKON LAUNCHES ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECH CENTER IN JAPANNikon has inaugurated its 922-square-metre Nikon Additive Manufacturing (AM) Technology Center in Japan. Located in Gyoda, Saitama Prefecture, Nikon states that the newly established AM Technology Center will assist the firm in its aim to 'transform manufacturing by leveraging and expanding the industrial foundation with advanced solutions from Nikon.'This comes after the opening of a comparable facility in Long Beach, California, last July.Similar to its California site, the Japanese facility will unite the Nikon AM portfolio and consolidate a varied, specialized team. It will feature an NXG XII 600 laser powder bed fusion system by Nikon SLM Solutions, which uses 12 lasers and allows users to print components up to 1.5m in size, in addition to Nikon's directed energy deposition systems, including the Lasermeister LM300A, and CT systems like the XT H320 scanner. Nikon anticipates that this capability will improve its service for clients and partners in the defense, space, and aviation industries. According to the company, the DED capability will be utilized for repair and maintenance purposes.Nikon has notably intensified its involvement in the additive manufacturing industry recently, by acquiring SLM Solutions and Morf3D, introducing a DED portfolio of machines, and investing in Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies.One of the primary reasons for establishing the AM Technology Center in Japan was to carry out research and development on 'state-of-the-art' metal AM technologies, as well as offer metal AM and DfAM design services, such as suggestions for enhancing and fixing metal molds and prototypes, to clients in Japan and Asia. IMR GEELY AUTO & TASCO TO COMMENCE AUTO MANUFACTURING IN VIETNAM'S TIEN HAIHa Noi - Work on two major automobile manufacturing and assembly plants with Chinese investments is set to begin in northern Thai Binh province in 2025, marking a major lift for Vietnam's automotive industry. Geely Auto Group, one of the largest Chinese automobile manufacturers, along with Vietnam's Tasco Joint Stock Company, is set to start constructing a new facility in Tien Hai Economic Zone in June 2025. The 30-hectare facility will initially produce 75,000 units per year. The first units are expected to be rolled off the production line by early 2026. The project has an estimated cost of US$168 million. Tasco will hold 64 percent of the project, while Geely Auto will hold 36 percent. In this joint venture, Tasco Auto will be appointed as the distributor of Geely vehicles in Vietnam, starting with the popular SUV Geely Coolray, which has already taken the markets of the Philippines and Russia by storm.In the meantime, Chery's subsidiary, Omoda & Jaecoo, has collaborated with Vietnamese conglomerate Geleximco to develop an $800 million manufacturing plant in Hung Phu Industrial Zone. The construction is set to start in the second quarter of 2025, and the first phase will be completed in early 2026. Upon completion, the plant will produce 200,000 vehicles a year. Head of the completion of the plant, Omoda & Jaecoo has already entered the Vietnamese market by distributing the OMODA C5 SUV, imported from Indonesia, and upgrading its lineup with the Jaecoo J7 PHEV in January 2025. At the same time, the company has completed the creation of 20 nationwide dealerships.Both investments will drive growth in the automotive sector for Vietnam, strengthen localization, and create thousands of new jobs while additional plans involve supply chain development, research and development centers, and workforce training to drive the long-term development of the sector. IMRTOP STORIES
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