*This interview is part of the special article "Measurement and Inspection Industry (Part 3)" in the June issue of EMIDAS Magazine. Please click here to read the full article.

The establishment of MORITEX Vietnam Co., Ltd. as the company's second overseas production base, following the Shenzhen plant in China, was a significant endeavor that had been in development for five to six years as part of the company's efforts to expand overseas. Currently, the Shenzhen plant, which commenced operations in 2002, continues to operate smoothly. However, with the rising cost of labor in China and shifts in the global market, the "China-plus-one" strategy has become a reality. After careful consideration, the Vietnamese market was selected, recognized for its diligent workforce, political stability, and pro-Japanese sentiment.

When the company decided to enter the market in 2021, a necessary condition was the maintenance and assurance of high quality, which is the greatest feature of the company's products. The essential element for this was the measurement equipment installed in the inspection process of the production line. The strict inspections of coaxiality, parallelism, roundness, etc., performed in the inspection process. In order to guarantee high quality and win the trust of customers, Mitutoyo equipment that had been used for many years in the factories in Japan and Shenzhen, China, was absolutely necessary.

"We could not achieve the micron-level specifications that we are proud of without Mitutoyo equipment. In that sense, the introduction of Mitutoyo equipment was a logical step."

Optical Performance Inspection Equipment

Haruyuki Fujimoto, Senior Manager of the Quality and Purchasing Department at the Vietnamese subsidiary, recalls, "We had a long history of doing business with them, and the partnership between the two companies was mature enough."

Machine vision lenses, Moritex's main product, are a core component essential for the production of semiconductor and LCD manufacturing equipment. The Vietnam plant has started its business by mass-producing these industrial lenses first. The frames that support the glass lenses and the various metal parts to which they are attached are processed and assembled at the Vietnam plant and exported to Japan, Asia, Europe, and North America.

For the final inspection of the production process, Mitutoyo has introduced measurement equipment such as the CRYSTA-Apex V544 CMM and MiCAT Planner, a fully automatic measurement program generation software. The constant and accurate operation of these machines ensures the high quality of Moritex's machine vision lenses. In the future, the company plans to increase the number and type of measuring instruments as the volume and variety of products at the Vietnam factory are gradually expanded.

Coordinate Measuring Machine (left); Roundness Measuring Instrument (upper right); Measuring Microscope (lower right)

On the other hand, Senior Manager Fujimoto also mentions an aspect that may seem "unexpected," saying, "We must not be so dependent on inspections. We want to reduce the number of inspection processes as much as possible". He emphasizes the need to build a production system based on advanced technology that eliminates the need for post-product inspections, such as total volume inspections.

Once mass production is underway, the Vietnam plant is already considering the launch of a new business. Mr. Fujimoto is also eager to proceed with developing new products alongside the Shenzhen plant. In order to achieve this, the company requires measurement equipment to evaluate the completed new products. These new types of measuring instruments will become increasingly essential at manufacturing sites in the future, and it was with this in mind that Mr. Fujimoto made his "unexpected" comment.

"Measuring instruments will play an increasingly vital role in this way, becoming ever more indispensable," said Mr. Fujimoto, who also heads the Strategic Sourcing Division at the head office in Japan. He is closely monitoring the growth of the new plant at the production site, which is a source of great excitement for him after many years.

MORITEX Vietnam Co., Ltd.

RBF-V/W, RBF Area, No. 06, Street 15, VSIP Bac Ninh, Dai Dong Commune, Tien Du District, Bac Ninh

https://www.moritex.co.jp