Kyocera to Build New Development Center

Kyocera Corp. plans to build a new Center for Development at its Shiga Yasu Campus in Japan, where the company will consolidate production engineering and development functions. The new center will strengthen manufacturing capabilities through stronger collaboration among Kyocera's diverse business divisions, while training new generations of engineering leaders.

Kyocera plans to raise its capabilities to a new level in production engineering through developing state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies, promoting smart factories by adopting automated and optimized production processes, investing in engineering skills development, building digital transformation expertise, and sharing knowledge among divisions.

The company envisions the new center as a gathering place for production engineers from all Kyocera manufacturing sites. Key objectives will include strengthening and accelerating development of core technologies and manufacturing processes at Kyocera's components businesses, while creating a new space for engineers from each business division to engage in co-creation, information-sharing, and technological training.

The Center is planned to have six floors, with a total floor space of 288,107 sq. ft. The first through third floors will feature spaces for production process and equipment development, including pilot production lines for new technologies in ceramic molding, dispersion, mixing, firing, and laser processing for components manufacturing. Emphasis will be placed on optimizing manufacturing processes to achieve carbon neutrality. The fourth to sixth floors will include offices, co-creation cafes, and training spaces both for newly hired engineers and for employees who need to learn the digital transformation skills necessary for operating smart factories.

In addition, the Center will collaborate closely with Kyocera's three R&D bases in Japan: the Minato Mirai Research Center, Keihanna Research Center, and Kirishima R&D Center, to strengthen the manufacturing capabilities of the Kyocera Group.

The Development Center is expected to be operational by April 2025.