Regarding their business results for FY 2011, the 2 arc welding machine and robot manufacturers Daihen and Panasonic Welding Systems are forecasting that sales for the current term will be up by a double digit figure over the previous term. Two high ranking corporate officers of these companies revealed this during interviews granted earlier this year.

Both officers noted that exports accounted for over 50% of sales, making a major contribution to their figures. One more reason to take into consideration was that during the latter half of the term to some extent a demand started to appear geared to the recovery from the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake.

Since the Lehman Shock, welding machine manufacturers have had a hard time, as capital investment in Japan has cooled off, added to which is the loss incurred from the exchange rate. Koichiro Masai, President of Panasonic Welding Systems, stated, “Sales for the first half of 2011 were up by 119% over the same period of the previous year, with sales both in Japan and overseas moving along firmly. The outlook for the latter half of the year also looks bright in terms of figures, and we anticipate we’ll meet our sales plan.” Yuji Kiyohara, Senior Executive Vice President of Daihen, also gave his view of the overall situation, noting, “Our overseas business is moving along well so that when it comes to how we are doing overall, things are looking up, although just slightly. In addition, if construction geared to recovery from the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake gets going, our welding related business should start moving as well.”

As if to back this up, according to statistics put out by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, the number of arc welding machines produced in Japan from January to September of 2011 came to 65,249, already greatly exceeding the 61,636 units produced from January to December of 2010. Also, according to data put out by the Japan Robot Association, in terms of the number of arc welding robots sold in Japan and those for export, in contrast to the total figure of 13,750 for the period of January to December of 2010, just during the period of January to September of 2011 the figure came to 13,840 units, already exceeding the entire previous year, with a double digit growth quite certain.

With the exception of Europe, countries such as China, India, and Russia have a vigorous demand for welding machines

This term, the increase in sales, especially due to the overseas demand, chiefly in Asia, stand out more than last year. For Daihen, the average number of arc welding robots sold overseas monthly grew during the January to September period of 2011 by just over 30% compared to the previous year. Chiefly sales related to the infrastructure such as construction equipment as well as cars and two wheeled vehicles industries are going along steadily. A high level of growth can be anticipated, chiefly for the developing nations. The forecast calls for continued steady growth, especially in the developing nations of Asia, for use in the automotive and infrastructure related sectors. Daihen Welding and Mechatronics company is forecasting sales for FY 2011 to be up by 25% on a consolidated basis over the previous year.

As Mr. Kiyoihara noted, “The credit uncertainty in European industrial circles, and the problem of the Greek default, do result in a lack of clarity regarding the future in this region, but the current situation is not really all that bad. India is sandwiched between Bangladesh in the West and Pakistan in the East and in the process of expansion by straddling East and West. With India heading the list we can place high hopes on the BRICs nations such as Russia and those in South America.” Along with expanding its sales network in developing nations such as India, Brazil, and those in Eastern Europe, the company is also thoroughly training the sales force of its agencies. It is striving to have a fully developed sales force which can offer improvement programs to its customers.

Panasonic Welding Systems had an overseas sales ratio of around 40% in 2009, but following along the pace in 2010, for this term they will account for some 55-60%, over half of total sales.

To put effort into development overseas, the company plans to complete its new building of its company Tangshan Panasonic Industrial Equipment in Tangshan, China in September of this year. It is working to expand sales of its thyristor welding machines. It plans to start up its company in India In November of this year. While the thyristor type is its main product, continuing right along it has in view manufacturing the inverter and fully digital welding machines. Panasonic Welding Systems hopes to have the most suitable local production in each country. Mr. Masai, analyzing the situation, stated, “While the Chinese market is what it is, we sense a unique type of growth in India, slightly different from that in China.” He showed his enthusiasm when he noted, “If you include the operations of sales agencies such as FA Technical Center, we have 42 sales bases worldwide. We plan to expand the number, chiefly in China.