Exploring Technical Centers – Citizen Machinery’s GLOBAL SOLUTION CENTER

September 3, 2024

GLOBAL SOLUTION CENTER, Citizen Machinery

4107-6 Miyota, Miyota-machi, Nagano-ken, Japan
+81 267-32-5900

Citizen Machinery (Miyota, Nagano, Japan; President, Hideo Ina) operates its “GLOBAL SOLUTION CENTER (GSC)” as the central hub among more than 10 technical centers (TC) worldwide. The GSC is responsible for leveraging machinery and information and communication technologies (ICT) and disseminating machining technology information. It houses more than 20 state-of-the-art machines equipped with various peripheral devices, offers explanations of IoT services, showcases a wide range of work samples, and provides machine operation training schools, among other various functions.

Comprehensive customer support

The GSC was established in February 2020, just as the company was planning a private show to unveil the center when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. As a result, the GSC made its debut a year later through an online private show. The event featured live and video demonstrations of new machines from the Cincom and Miyano brands, proprietary technologies such as LFV (low frequency vibration cutting) and friction joining, and the company’s “alkapplysolution” digital support service.

“As the proportion of external demand increases, GSC plays an important role in disseminating machining technology and information from more advanced Western markets both domestically and globally. We also actively promote technical exchange meetings with overseas staff,” explains Kiyoto Shinohara, Operating Officer and Deputy General Manager of Sales Headquarters, who oversees the GSC.

Miyano brand ANX42SYY, a top-selling product, and Kiyoto Shinohara, Operating Officer

In April this year, the company further expanded its offerings by opening the “Global Training Center,” which aims to enhance and standardize the skills of service engineers in addition to providing training functions for customers.

Customers’ needs for automation and efficiency are intensifying. “We support not just the machines, but the entire ‘workflow’ of our customers’ operations. This comprehensive support adds value and leads to significant differentiation,” emphasizes Shinohara. The GSC covers a wide range of processes, from estimation and programming to setup, machining and measurement.

Pioneering remote support

Staff from the U.S. also visit Japan for maintenance training.

Citizen Machinery has also been a pioneer in remote support, an area that has become increasingly important in recent years. The company offers a variety of e-learning and operation training programs and has made numerous technical resources available online. To ensure that these rich resources are used effectively around the world, the company is working on multilingual content.

“Unlike general-purpose NC lathes or machining centers, small automatic lathes are rarely encountered until one enters the workforce,” explains Shinohara, emphasizing the intention to build a robust support system.

The GSC also focuses on the development of machining technology, responding to the intensifying competition not only in machines but also in value-added services. The center is involved in developing attachments, laser processing equipment, friction welding of dissimilar materials, and combining LFV technology with semi-dry machining, among other field-oriented technological developments. The Machining Technology Development Office, established in 2023, spearheads the daily pursuit of new machining technologies.

With a wide range of display products, the GSC offers comprehensive solutions tailored to customers’ entire workflow. Equally important is the training of machining engineers. “We aim to nurture more personnel who understand the customer’s perspective and can work across departments. This is what the times demand,” says Shinohara resolutely.

To achieve this, the Solution Promotion Department, the Global Service Department, and the Machining Technology Development Office are working together to expand and deepen the capabilities of the GSC.

By: Takashi Haga
Deputy editor-in-chief, SEISANZAI Japan 