Unmanned forklift trucks installed by Yamazaki Mazak at the Minokamo Plant No. 2.

Yamazaki Mazak has restructured and integrated the No. 1 and No. 2 plants of its mainstay Minokamo Plant (Minokamo City, Gifu Prefecture) from product-based to assembly and parts processing functions, and opened them to the press and customers. The company introduced its first radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for parts and unmanned forklift trucks (AGFLs), and also utilized the Internet of Things (IoT), automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital twins to increase the monthly production capacity to 350 units, a 50% increase over the previous capacity. The Minokamo Plant is responsible for 60% of Yamazaki Mazak's domestic production. The first and second plants are about 600 meters apart and were previously operated as separate factories. With the reorganization of Minokamo, the smartification of domestic factories has come full circle. Yamazaki Mazak's Minokamo Plant No. 2 in Minokamo, Gifu Prefecture, November 25, 2019. Credit: Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun / Kyodo News Images