The recent ISO recertification of Mazak Corp.’s Florence, KY, manufacturing operations, comes on the heels of the company’s adoption of a new manufacturing concept it calls “iSMART Factory.”
iSMART Factory is a manufacturing vision that aims to improve production efficiency at the company’s Kentucky-based North American manufacturing operations. The concept involves ongoing changes and improvements that involve advanced manufacturing cells and systems integrated with digital technologies for free-flow data sharing to monitor and control manufacturing processes and operations.
The Kentucky plant has undergone 16 expansions to date. And with each expansion, the company has advanced the facility’s engineering capabilities, product development and production efficiency to support the growing technology demands of its customers across all industry segments.
As part of the iSMART concept implementation, Mazak invested US $30 million into its Kentucky manufacturing operations in 2014, with US $19 million of it spent on new capital equipment. Inside its 536,000 sq ft North American Manufacturing Plant, Mazak manufactures more than 100 different types of machine tool models.
“We take great pride in our Kentucky operations and the ongoing investment in our plant ensures the efficient, high-quality manufacture of our machine tools and equipment today and well into the future. And while we know our commitment to quality stands strong, it feels good to have official acknowledgment through ISO 9001:2008 certification,” says Brian Papke, president of Mazak Corp.
