Nissei Expands US Subsidiary

Established in November 2016 with operations starting in March 2018, Nissei’s U.S. production subsidiary in San Antonio, Texas, was created to supply larger sized injection molding machines to the North American market consistently and with short delivery times. As the company seeks to strengthen its global production network, it recently completed a factory expansion in Texas, with the new space operational beginning in February 2025.

Upon its establishment, the San Antonio operation assembled presses ranging in clamp force from 618 to 1,439 tons. The Texas factory, which covered 115,000-ft² and sits on a nearly 400,000-ft² lot, was Nissei’s fourth production facility outside Japan, after the Taicang subsidiary in China opened in 2009 and the Rayong subsidiary in Thailand was created in 2012. In 2019, it gained a foothold in Italy following its purchase of a controlling interest in Negri Bossi.

In a release, Nissei notes that the timing of its global production expansion coincided with a rise in tariffs and other global trade actions, which encouraged more localized production. Nissei has been steadily increasing its assembly and production of large hybrid injection molding machines at the San Antonio factory, delivering more than 200 machines to customers in North, Central and South America since the factory opened.

Nissei says it has been receiving more inquiries about even larger injection molding machines from Texas, mainly for the automotive, housing and construction material industries in North America. The company decided in March 2023 to expand the U.S. factory, with the specially reinforced floor enabling Nissei to now assemble injection molding machines with clamping forces up to 3,000 tons. Specifically, a Nissei spokesperson told Plastics Technology that the floor was designed and engineered to withstand machine weights up to 140 metric tons (more than 300,000 lbs.).

In addition to building larger machines, Nissei America, the U.S. subsidiary of the Nissei Group, integrated production and sales functions in 2021 to streamline its operations. In addition to press assembly, the San Antonio plant features a Technical Center for mold trials, testing and machine demonstrations; educational classes, including hands-on training; and a parts center, including an automated warehousing system.