Leaders in precision metalworking

Poland Tokai Okaya is one of the leaders in the Polish metalworking industry, supplying high quality pressed products for the automotive, household appliance and electrical goods sectors. Victoria Hattersley talks to Hideki Nakasone, company president, about its history, current market position and plans for future growth.

Poland Tokai Okaya Manufacturing Sp.z.o.o. (PTO) is a renowned Polish supplier of high quality pressed products. It is a part of the Japanese Okaya Group, a sprawling global corporation with operations that encompass the metalworking, chemical, food, machinery and many other sectors besides. Dating back 346 years, Okaya is one of the oldest corporations in the world and, as such, PTO can draw on a wealth of strength, experience and state-ofthe-art technology from its parent company – whilst at the same time, as Mr Nakasone tells us, maintaining the freedom to operate completely independently.

PTO itself was established in 2006 in Łysomice, Poland, where its operations are still based today. Mr Nakasone begins: “Our factory began production in 2007 where we initially focused on the production of metal parts for LCD TVs. But in 2008 we began the move into other areas such as domestic appliances and renewable energy. We made our first deliveries of products for the automotive sector in 2012 and today this is a particularly important and growing area of business for us. Our automotive clients in Poland include such globally renowned names as Gedia and Toyota.”

Production profile

The company’s comprehensive range of products and services covers design, stamping, welding, pressure welding, tapping, washing, assembly, laboratory services and tooling.

PTO’s machine park currently includes two factories: the first focusing on stamping and the other on welding, pressing and assembly. Its stock of modern presses means the company is able to produce an extremely broad range of precision parts in many different dimensions, thicknesses and shapes.

Its state-of-the-art facilities include the most hi-tech machine tools (including specialised production lines for large and complicated metal elements), hydraulic presses up to 500 tonnes, progressive presses and spot projection welders. It also has modern design stations equipped with the latest CAD programmes, integrated with CAM modules based on 3D modeling.

According to Mr Nakasone: “In fact we have 600-, 500-, 300-, and 200-tonne presses at our production sites. We can produce over one million parts from each machine every year. Our key products are metal parts which can be shaped, bended and welded. In the future we would like to develop more complex processes in our factories and tooling workshop to increase our range still further.”

Alongside this, PTO also runs its own in-house tool shop. Here, its services include tool production, the processing of components for production instruments, stamping dies and blanking dies for sheet plastic forming. Its offer also includes machining, plastic working and electromachining. The tool workshop includes its own design and technological office facilities equipped with CAD programmes integrated with CAM modules.

All the company’s production processes are manufacturing according to the strictest quality standards and assessments. In 2010 it

achieved ISO 9001:2008, with the ISO 14000 environmental management certification following in 2011. Finally, in February 2013 it achieved ISO TS 16949 certification.

Moving forward

The company’s sales have risen steadily in recent years and this positive trend is set to continue. In 2013 it achieved a turnover of around €9 million and the following year this rose to €14.5 million. The projected figure for 2015 is around €19 million.

According to Mr Nakasone, around 10 per cent of PTO’s sales currently come from exports, mainly to Poland’s neighbouring countries. “In the coming years we would like to see this figure increase to 25 per cent,” he adds.

It is expected that PTO will achieve these impressive projected growth figures solely through organic expansion. Mr Nakasone concludes: “We are not planning any acquisitions for the future. Instead, we will be investing both in new technology and in developing our human resources through training and hiring new staff.” n