Delcam celebrates 20th anniversary of first Japanese sale

The event featured a speech from David Abbott, Deputy Consul General from the UK Consulate in Osaka, who congratulated the company on its 20 years of successful trading in Japan. To mark the anniversary, Delcam’s Asian business development director, Tim Mitchell, presented a plaque to Katsuhiko Ishii, managing director of Ishii Iron Works, the company’s first customer in Japan. Like many of Delcam’s other Japanese customers, Mr Ishii has been a demanding and innovative user of the software. He was named User of the Year in 1992 for creating special command files for the 5-axis machining of rubber moulds. Delcam first entered the Japanese market in partnership with reseller Itochu Corp, one of the country’s leading trading houses. Recognising the need for closer relationships with its growing number of customers, as well as with the country’s machine tool manufacturers, Delcam founded a joint venture, Delcam Japan, dedicated to selling and supporting its software in 1996. This was converted to a full subsidiary in 2005. Delcam Japan now supports customers on more than 1,700 sites throughout the country from its head office in Tokyo and its branch office in Nagoya, and through its ten dealers. These customers come from a wide range of industries and include the country’s leading automotive companies, Honda, Toyota and Nissan, product development and tooling specialists ARRK and Shonan Design, and major toolmakers such as Tatematsu Mould and Creative Technology Inc. * This event is held each year to present the latest technical and commercial developments from the company to representatives from its key Asian customers and the region’s media. More than 100 delegates from 13 countries attended the meeting. The programme also features presentations from a number of customers describing their successful use of Delcam software. This year’s client speakers were from Hyundai, Shonan Design and Fuji Film, each of whom detailed savings in time and money that they had achieved. The Summit was sponsored by three of Delcam’s key partners in the region; hardware manufacturer HP, metrology specialist Renishaw and rapid prototyping equipment supplier Z-Corp.