The Japan Times WORLD EYE REPORTS Baden-Württemberg
©THE JAPAN TIMES	Thursday, December 27, 2001

Success on foreign turf

With a history dating back to 1919, Japanese machine tools manufacturer Yamazaki Mazak has developed into one of the most important players on the world market. Today, Mazak is a global company not only in terms of sales but also production -- with major plants in Japan, the U.S., the UK, Singapore and China.

Dr. Ö.S. Ganiyusufoglu, managing director of Mazak's German operation, is satisfied with his company's performance on one of the most demanding machine tools stages in the world. Traditionally, Germany is the world's most innovative country in the machine tools industry. When Mazak opened a branch in Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg, it faced the difficult challenge of competing with the best on their home turf. According to Ganiyusufoglu, this was an exciting prospect for the company: "We knew that the German market was going to be difficult to conquer. But we also knew that if we were able to succeed here, then we could succeed anywhere."

Dr. Ö.S. Ganiyusufoglu shows off a Yamazaki Mazak machine that has revolutionized the machine- tool sector.

"Our products are now points of reference in the German marketplace and even the biggest German manufacturers are now measuring themselves against us," he points out.

"Four years ago at the European machine tools exhibition in Hannover," the company chief explained, "we exhibited a revolutionary machine called 'Integrex.' At that time, none of our competitors were able to present such a machine for sale. Integrex combines turning, milling and drilling. Before buying the Integrex, one of our customers needed seven different machines to finish his products. Now, he only needs one."

Four years on, the company is once again silencing the market with even more revolutionary machines. "We have developed the new machines to include e-technologies," continued Ganiyusufoglu. "These new products are more sophisticated -- they function like partners for the manufacturer. They can answer specific questions and bring the manufacturer's attention to problems using Internet capabilities and voice systems."

Not content to revel in past successes, the company's managing director is continuously working to sustain the current level of growth. "We want to be more active on the German market, we want to be closer to our customers and we want to increase our German market share. In short, we want to be even more successful," he concluded.

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