German plant engineering specialist Eisenmann (it focuses on surface finishing, ‘material flow’ automation, thermal
process technology and environmental engineering) is expanding its global sales and service network and establishing a new ‘presence’ in Japan, underlining its strategic goal of international growth and increasing its presence in Asia.

The new office in Yokohama will focus on building and strengthening business relationships with Japanese vehicle manufacturers and automotive-component suppliers.

Japanese OEMs, which account for about 30% of the global market for vehicles under 6 tonnes, have manufacturing facilities in many countries world-wide. However, capital-expenditure decisions are significantly influenced by their corporate headquarters in Japan.

Jeffrey Bowers, general manager of Eisenmann Japan (www.eisenmann.com), said: “The new office in Yokohama puts us in close geographical proximity to our local customers and allows us to engage more effectively with them.

“Japanese auto companies traditionally prefer to co-operate with locally based suppliers; they also pay close attention to quality and cost effectiveness, and are increasingly interested in innovative technologies from other countries.

“In particular, our ‘smart paint shop’ solutions are attracting significant interest from our Japanese customers.”

The new sales and service office in Yokohama takes the total number of Eisenmann sites to 26. The family-owned global player is now active in 15 countries and has a workforce of about 3,200 world-wide.

In 2016, the company generated revenues of 862 million euros.