Kyocera Corp. recently announced that it has started construction of a new facility on the premises of its Yasu manufacturing complex in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The facility will develop and produce Kyocera’s own proprietary automated production equipment, enabling the company to strengthen its use of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in manufacturing. The company held a groundbreaking ceremony on April 3 at the site.

“We are excited to welcome the new production facility here, in Shiga, which will contribute our company’s factory automation,” said Yoshinobu Ozaki, manager of the Shiga Yasu Plant. “By reforming production processes, we aim to double productivity.”

Kyocera reports that the recent domestic labor shortage is gradually impeding the growth of the Japanese economy. According to Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the population of Japanese workers age 15-64 totaled approximately 76 million in 2017—and is expected to decrease to around 60 million by 2040. To overcome this rapid labor shortage, Kyocera has encouraged its production sites to adopt cutting-edge technologies, including AI and robotics, which can double productivity. Further, the company aims to achieve higher growth and profitability by reducing costs while reforming its production processes.

As part of a comprehensive action plan toward doubling productivity, Kyocera will consolidate partial operations from two different sites—a research and development site currently located in Daito, Osaka, and a manufacturing site in Yohkaichi, Shiga—with its manufacturing site in Yasu, Shiga, which produces equipment for the company’s own factories and offices. By moving these sites to the Yasu Plant and doubling space for development and manufacturing, Kyocera reports that it will establish a high-speed development process.

For more information, visit https://global.kyocera.com.