FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mitsui Seiki USA, Inc. announced that Scott Walker, long-time president, has accepted the position of chairman; Robb Hudson, former business and technology director, has been named chief executive officer; and William “Bill” Malanche, former executive vice president, has been appointed chief operating officer.
Mitsui Seiki USA, Inc. is the North American subsidiary of Mitsui Seiki Kogyo Co., Ltd., headquartered just outside of Tokyo, Japan. According to the company, the appointments position the organization for continued future growth and cement its strong foothold in precision machining industries such as aerospace and defense, energy and power generation, mold and die, medical and others requiring supremely accurate machine tools and collaborative applications engineering services.
The three gentlemen have distinct roles and areas of responsibility. Mr. Walker, chairman, is assisting the executive management team in an advisory capacity as the duties transfer. Mr. Hudson, CEO, leads all sales and marketing management functions and new and current product development. Mr. Malanche, COO, assumes all operational management responsibilities and oversees engineering and technical support for pre- and post-sale activities. Together they will manage inventory mix and levels, business strategy development and implementation, and financial oversight.
Mr. Hudson joined Mitsui Seiki in 2015 as a key account business and product development manager. He was instrumental in developing the company’s recently introduced hybrid machining system, comprising both additive and subtractive manufacturing functionality in one precision machine tool. This system was successfully launched at IMTS 2016. Mr. Hudson has spent his entire adult life in the machine tool industry. Since the sale of his family’s Indiana-based machine tool distributorship in 2002, he gained a depth of experience in both traditional and non-traditional machining applications in the aerospace, energy, medical device, automotive and electronics industries across North America and Europe and brings that knowledge to his new role at Mitsui Seiki and its customers.
Mr. Malanche, COO, joined Mitsui Seiki in 1985 as a service and applications engineer trainee. His value and contributions to the company grew over decades, as he became an important liaison with customers, vendor partners and the factory in Japan. He has also been instrumental in product development and application in manufacturing facilities all over the world. Mr. Malanche is particularly well versed in the Mexican, Central America and South American markets.
Mr. Walker personally selected these two individuals to take over the day-to-day operations. During Mr. Walker’s leadership as president since 1995, the company has successfully continued its long history in building application-specific machine tools for core competency manufacturing requirements for global OEMs and their suppliers.
“These two men are more than ready to take on these leadership roles,” said Mr. Walker. “They have the knowledge, talent and acumen to continue to innovate with our longstanding customers and support them beyond all expectations. They will also attract a new generation of manufacturers to the Mitsui Seiki brand and all it stands for – accuracy, precision and reliability – as we usher in the new modern era of manufacturing globally, and in North America particularly. This is an exciting time in our company’s history and I’m looking forward to standing behind these two individuals and all of our employees, supporting their efforts.”
Mitsui Seiki’s customer base is primarily comprised of OEMs and top tier suppliers in the precision and high value component industries, however as even smaller job shops are automating and realizing the benefits of using ultra-precise vertical and horizontal machining centers, the customer mix is evolving to include advanced, smaller subcontract manufacturers as well. In addition to CNC 3-, 4- and 5-axis machining centers, Mitsui Seiki also builds CNC jig borers, jig mills, jig grinders and ballscrew thread grinders. It’s in this category that Mitsui machines are often referred to as “mother” machines as these ultra-accurate machines are the foundation technologies used to make other machine tools.
For more information, contact Mitsui Seiki USA, Inc. (201) 337-1300, www.mitsuiseiki.com.
