ENSHU and SW of Germany join forces for EV parts needs

ENSHU has entered into a cooperation with Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen (SW) of Germany in the field of machining battery electric vehicle (BEV) parts. ENSHU plans to handle the installation and after-sales service of SW’s machining centers (MCs) to be shipped to Japan. By joining forces with SW, which has a wealth of experience in supplying MCs for EVs, ENSHU aims to broaden its range of solutions and meet the needs of BEV parts machining in Japan. 

Provide installation and after-sales service 

SW mainly handles large horizontal MCs for the automotive industry and is particularly strong in multi-spindle machines. ENSHU, on the other hand, specializes in turnkey solutions for the automotive industry, primarily small and medium-sized MCs. 

Atsushi Suzuki, President and COO of ENSHU (=right) and Stefan Weber, CEO of SW (=left)

The automotive industry, which is the main customer base for both companies, is undergoing a massive transformation and the shift to e-mobilities is progressing rapidly. In response to this trend, the two companies announced on October 12 that they would cooperate in the field of EV parts machining. On October 18, the first day of “MECHATRONICS TECHNOLOGY JAPAN (MECT) 2023,” a machine tool exhibition held in Nagoya City, a briefing was held for distributors and members of the press. 

As the first step of the partnership, ENSHU plans to establish a system in which ENSHU handles the installation and after-sales service of SW’s MCs shipped to Japan. The exact schedule has not yet been determined, but ENSHU intends to eventually customize and supply or import and sell SW’s MCs to the Japanese market to meet the machining needs of EV parts and other products. Atsushi Suzuki, President and COO of ENSHU, said, “We are of course exploring the possibility of SW selling our MCs to the European market”. “Our ultimate goal is to produce each other’s MCs in each other’s plants,” he added, explaining their future prospects. 

First MC to Japan early next year 

SW has extensive experience in supplying MCs for BEV components such as scroll compressors and battery housings, mainly to the European automotive industry. Stefan Weber, CEO of SW, said, “We foresaw that e-mobilities, including BEV, would be a huge future area for the automotive industry, and we prepared early.  SW is now proud to be one of the world’s leading MC suppliers for components for e-mobilities,” he emphasized. 

ENSHU’s booth at MECT2023, where SW’s product catalogs were also placed to promote the company.

Previously, SW had no distributor network in Japan and no sales experience in Japan. However, when a project was decided to deliver the first MC in Japan early next year, SW was faced with the need to find a Japanese partner to handle the after-sales service for the MCs. Through a distributor that handles both companies’ MCs, ENSHU was approached as a partner because of its strong customer base in the Japanese automotive industry. 

President Suzuki, COO of ENSHU, said, “Both SW and our company specialize in turnkey solutions for the automotive industry, and although we have a similar history together, there is very little overlap in our product lines. We would like to use this partnership as an opportunity to expand the scope of our solutions and meet the wide range of processing needs of our Japanese customers”.