Manufacturing equipment trading company MASS Co., Ltd. has seen steady increase of surface mount technology (SMT) equipment, including mounters, amid the recovery of electronics manufacturing industry, particularly in China. To complement the expected growth, MASS will reinforce its showroom in Japan for a possible relaunch in October.

Expands Product Lineup

As a distributor of the Robotics operations of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., MASS handles a wide variety of manufacturing equipment relating to SMT, centering on mounters. Aside from Yamaha Motor, MASS also handles other products from other manufacturers, including soldering equipment.

Recently, the company has expanded the lineup of products it handles, including machines used in the pre- and post-mounting processes.  For three to four years now, the company has been selling industrial robots as well. By handling industrial robots in addition to machines in the SMT line, including mounters, solder paste printers, printed circuit board inspection systems (solder paste inspection (SPI) systems, automated optical inspection (AOI) systems), and furthermore, automated warehouses, dispensers, and soldering equipment, MASS exhibits its strength to meet a wide range of requirements of the manufacturing site.

MASS has sales bases in Suzhou and Shenzhen in China, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, and India to serve the needs of Japanese companies operating overseas, in addition to ones in Japan. 

On the recent market landscape, Hisashi Takagi, Chief Operating Officer of MASS Co., Ltd., says, “In Japan, with the effects of various subsidy systems, electronics manufacturing companies have been moving vigorously. Overseas market has been improving after China’s electronics manufacturing recovered late last year. Japanese companies’ mounter-related incoming orders have also been increasing. In Asia, orders received in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam have been brisk, and our company’s sales have also been increasing as planned both in Japan and abroad.” 

In China, MASS has a branch in Suzhou, MASS TRADING (SHENZHEN) CO., LTD. The demand for SMT machines has been expanding in a wide range of business categories, including automotive electronics, communications, consumer electronics, and electronic manufacturing services (EMS). Growing needs for the automation of production also boost up the demand for SMT equipment.

Creates Added Values

At its head office in Yokohama, Japan, MASS has a created a showroom where it can exhibit actual machines in an SMT line, from printer, mounter, inspection system to reflow system, and demonstrate industrial robots. The company has made extensive use of the showroom for business negotiations and private seminars. MASS plans to relaunch the showroom in October displaying leading-edge machines. 

Takagi says, “Aside from meeting our customers’ needs, we aim to become a trading company that enhances the value of customers’ production activities by proposing new technologies and products. Because of the pandemic, most business deals are done virtually. However, by re-launching our showroom would create an added value because virtual meetings have limitations. Seeing actual machines are still important.”