Development & Production Location - List of Articles
Development & Production LocationSodick China Suzhou Plant
Creating the best products in China
Introduction
- Technical center established in Suzhou to provide full-fledged training courses to better meet advanced machining requirements
- Maintaining a high level of awareness of the state of production in China to retain the position of market leader for high precision electrical discharge machines
We are approaching the 25th anniversary since the establishment of the Sodick Suzhou Plant (Suzhou Sodick Special Equipment Co., Ltd.), a production plant for electrical discharge machines located in Suzhou, China. Since then, China has entered an era of tremendous economic growth, and is now the second largest economy in the world behind the U.S. in terms of GDP (gross domestic product).
Amidst this backdrop, Sodick has developed a product lineup that is closely attuned to customer needs in the Chinese market. The Company has grown to the position of market leader in the Chinese market* for electrical discharge machines, successfully laying the foundation for pursuing further inroads in the Chinese market.
*According to our own research.
Profile
The Suzhou Plant is located approximately 100km west of Shanghai City (about one hour on the expressway from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport) almost at the north-south halfway point of China, in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province (population approximately 5.9 million).
Production began in November 1995 and currently we are manufacturing Wire-cut EDM and Die-sinker EDM for the rapidly growing Chinese market, building approximately 100 machines per month and 1,500 machines per year.
Address
No. 18 Zhuyuan Road, New District, Suzhou 215011, P. R. China
Founded
November 1994
Land size
36,900 m2
Production item
・Wire-cut EDM
(High-end models & special purpose machines)
・Die-sinker EDM
(High-end models & special purpose machines)
・Small-hole Drilling EDM
・Other industrial machines
Images of The Suzhou Plant
Sodick International Trading（Shenzhen）Co., Ltd.
The Suzhou Plant Manufacturing Product Lineup
Lineup of products equipped with Sodick's unique features, such as the high speed and dynamic response linear motor drive which demonstrates excellent positioning accuracy and the adoption of ceramic in the machine structural materials
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| Die-sinker EDM AD32Ls *Models which comply with GB Standard (Chinese National Standards) sold in China |
Die-sinker EDM AG40Ls、AG60Ls |
Wire-cut EDM AP250Ls |
|---|---|---|
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| Ultra High-speed Small-hole Drilling EDM with De-ionized Water K3HS |
Small-hole Drilling EDM K1C |
The Technical Center
A hands-on technical center that brings the product squarely into view
The Suzhou Plant includes a show room - the ‘Technical Center (Suzhou Technical Center)’ - in which visitors can see and get hands-on with Sodick’s flagship products, as well as receive consultations on technical matters.
Sodick has expanded its sales and services network all over China, and runs these facilities at major locations. While market needs vary from region to region, General Manager Nishimura states the following at the Suzhou Technical Center.
“While this was originally intended as a training facility for customers wishing to perform more advanced machining operations, it currently sees frequent use as a means of testing whether the desired processing shape outlined in drawings can be achieved prior to purchasing the product,” with many of Sodick’s customers located worldwide from places such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, in addition to its Japanese customer base. The service department of these Sodick sales affiliates and the Suzhou Plant work together in close cooperation to form a support network. This is used to rapidly service customers from all over China.
The Technical Center Equipment
- Die-sinker EDM：AD32Ls / AG40Ls Automation System
- Wire-cut EDM：AD32Ls：AP250Ls / ALN400Qs / AL600P
- Small-hole Drilling EDM：K3HS
- High Speed Milling Center：UH430L
- Metal 3D Printer：LPM325（plan）
At the Technical Center (Suzhou Technical Center), over 10 products are displayed where many enterprises come to observe and study the displayed products.
Ms. Zhu, Technical Training Instructor
“Many companies are now coming to us with highly precise targets in mind”
Machinery developed at the Suzhou Plant is most beneficial when testing highly advanced processes. Sodick’s extensive history in manufacturing has given the Company a keen insight into the core requirements for high precision machining. “Shipments have just about tripled since when I first joined the Company. This is what keeps the pressure on” (Ms. Zhu).
Looking ahead, Ms. Zhu hopes to “respond to the increasing need for automation, which is undergoing a swell of demand in China.”
Introducing Suzhou
The city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province, where the Suzhou Plant is located, is a neighboring city on the west side of Shanghai, which originally prospered from the production of silk goods.
It is now sometimes known as the ‘Venice of the East’ with the traditional town scenery consisting of white-washed walls and gray tiling being preserved even today, mixing together with the atmospheric surrounds of the canals crisscrossing the city, and the Classical Gardens of Suzhou World Heritage Site. The gentle tastes of Suzhou cooking, which draws out the natural flavors of the cooking ingredients, also remains a popular mainstay.
Downtown Suzhou however shows signs of rapid urbanization, with rows of high-rise buildings mixed in with the spectacular neon-lit Guanqian Street filled with young people and tourists out shopping.
