IMV opens a new UK Manufacturing Centre to support its European expansion strategy

IMV has opened a new Manufacturing Centre, with full test capabilities, in Shepreth, Cambridgeshire. The Centre which opened on 5th January is a venture in conjunction with service partner Vibratech, in which IMV has recently taken a shareholding. The Centre represents a substantial investment in IMVʼs operations outside of Japan and will underpin its ongoing European growth strategy.

Vibratechʼ s Managing Director Trevor Deards commented: “We welcome this investment by IMV.
Vibratech is delighted to be part of this project which is a great opportunity for the UK and will bring many benefits to European customers” .

Manufacturing capabilities in the UK will allow IMV to substantially reduce its lead times for European customers.
The Centre will hold a substantial part of IMVʼ s current shaker range in stock, meaning that delivery of standard systems can be possible within just 2-4 weeks compared to 12-14 weeks for products which are shipped from Japan. The increased stock holding area will not only hold standard systems, but also carries a full range of spare parts for all the systems that IMV sells in Europe, supporting IMVʼ s rapidly growing installed base.

Spare parts can be delivered within 24 hours and with IMVʼs world leading ECO-systems, problems can be diagnosed remotely, maximising the system up time like no other available system in the market. If up-time and reliability are important, then IMVʼ s ECO-systems are the most realistic solution in the industry. IMVʼ s commitment to supporting all customers remains paramount and a core philosophy behind IMVʼ s global expansion.

As well as standard shaker systems, the Manufacturing Centre will offer the capability to customise a shaker system to the purchaserʼ s particular needs.
This could range from the addition of special trunnions or the manufacture of a bespoke slip table, through to the complete customisation of a system. Rigorous quality control procedures on site will help to ensure that all systems are delivered to the customer in perfect working order and customers are welcome to come and watch their shaker system being put through its paces in the Centreʼ s test chamber. Should they wish, it will be possible for customers to provide their own test specimen for use during testing.

The first two major European systems, one for a prestigious UK customer and another for leading German engineering Company EDAG, are already in production. The UK system is a 24kN shaker system featuring a special 600mm slip table. For EDAG, IMV are building a 54kN 100mm displacement ECO-Shaker system with a high shock capability of 3.5 metres per second and a 600mm slip table.

Other facilities which the Centre offers include a conference room where visiting customers can work. This will also be used for conducting training sessions.

Looking to build on its strength in Asia, IMV CORPORATION is expanding rapidly in Europe, USA and South America. It has enjoyed substantial growth in recent years with a record-breaking turnover in its last financial year.

Director John Goodfellow said, “IMV is committed to investing in the future and a key part of our strategy is the expansion of our business in Europe. Our operations in Japan are so successful that production facilities there are nearing their maximum capacity, and the opening of the Manufacturing Centre is in direct response to the need to serve a growing customer base outside of Japan. However it is critically important to state that the Manufacturing Centre will operate under the strictest control of Japanese processes and quality procedures. All products will maintain the very highest level of Japanese engineered quality, performance and reliability”.

* IMV Europe Ltd was established in 2011 as a subsidiary of IMV CORPORATION of Japan, the worldʼ s leading supplier of electrodynamic vibration test equipment.
IMV Europe supplies a full range of single-axis and multi-axis electrodynamic vibration tests systems, as well as advanced multi-axis vibration controllers. IMV Europe has rapidly grown market share over the last 3 years with more than 75 installed systems, including the world leading ECO-systems (www.eco-shaker.com).

** Vibratech is one of IMVʼs gold service partners with more than 10 fully trained service engineers. In addition to installation and service support, Vibratech has a full repair capability and able to service equipment from all major shaker manufactures, including controllers, power amplifiers and very high quality re-wind of armature coils and field coils (www.vibratech.co.uk)