Jobs boost as another Japanese manufacturing giant set to arrive in Sunderland

Japanese robotics company Yaskawa has announced it will be opening a new, state-of-the-art UK headquarters and manufacturing facility in Sunderland.

The company, which specialises in the manufacture of "segments drives, motion controls and robotics" is opening a 35,000sq ft facility at Hillthorn Park adjacent to Nissan UK and the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP).

Following the announcement, Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We are fortunate as a city to be home to a number of multi-national manufacturers, and we are delighted that Yaskawa will soon join the ever-growing list of businesses that can now call Sunderland home. “Through the development of Hillthorn Park and IAMP, our goal was to attract more inward investment into the city and create more highly skilled jobs for residents and in Yaskawa we have a company helping us to achieve just that. “For the best part of a century, the business has been at the cutting-edge when it comes to developing automation and robotic technology, so it is fantastic to see such exciting career opportunities being created for local people.” Helen Golightly OBE, chief executive of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, added: “Yaskawa’s decision to invest in Sunderland reinforces our region’s position as one of the most important advanced manufacturing hubs in the UK.

"The company’s new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Hillthorn Park will bring more jobs to our region and help attract future inward investment as more businesses look to benefit from our skilled workforce and world-class infrastructure. “The £2.5m investment from government’s Getting Building Fund, which is managed in the region by the North East LEP, has helped ensure this strategic Enterprise Zone site has the utility infrastructure to meet the needs of incoming businesses.

"As a result, one of the world’s leading global technology companies has chosen the North East as the base for its new UK headquarters, and the future growth of its business.”

The new UK headquarters mark a continuation of the company’s ambitious expansion strategy in Europe. Yaskawa Electric Corporation founded in Japan in 1915, is consciously "following the trend towards building up technology know-how and production competence in Europe". The drives and motion products are manufactured in Cumbernauld, Scotland, while 80% of the European robot demands are produced in the European robot plant at Kočevje in Slovenia.

David Walsh, Managing Director at Yaskawa UK Ltd, said: “We continue to see positive growth and investment changes across our European organisation which includes the continued desire to invest in the growing opportunities for UK markets in the robotics, drives and motion control industries we work in. “So, it really is a huge vote of confidence in the UK and our new location in the North East is a huge driver for major industrial investment and opportunities to help shape, create and contribute to innovative automation solutions for several industries such as Automotive, Food and Beverage, Logistics, Packaging, Manufacturing, Wood and Metal working, etc. “As a business, being close to customers is extremely important to us and this move binds perfectly with that, putting us right at the heart of one of the UK’s largest manufacturing clusters and some of the biggest names in EV development and production. “We also have plans to continue growing our headcount over the course of the next year and this will give us the space required to enable that, as well as ensuring we can continue to tap into the region’s rich talent pool of skilled workers.”