A 30 percent increase in the shipment of linear motion guides in the U.S. has led Schaumburg, Illinois-based THK to increase their plant footprints – reaching a total of 10.5 million square feet at their 35 production facilities. Globally, the leading designer and manufacturer of motion control products saw orders spike by 31.6 percent in 2017.
The half-billion dollars the company has spent, and will continue to invest in facility improvements, are targeted at meeting customer demands that are the highest in more than a decade. The dramatic increase in orders of linear motion guides, which enable automation equipment and machine tools to perform precise positioning operations, is being fueled by a number of industry trends:
- Precise motion control movements continue to grow in importance as enhanced automation and greater plant floor connectivity is needed to improve competitiveness.
- The growth in product customization and engineered-to-order production strategies have placed higher demands on the accuracy of motion control equipment and components.
- Increased capital spending throughout the industrial sector means more machines containing motion control components are being bought and sold.
Linear motion guide sales numbers for 2017 surpassed the industry forecast of eight percent, sending demand beyond THK’s production capacity. According to THK, they were the first to commercialize linear motion technology in 1972.
Image Credit: THK America/ http://www.thk.com/?q=us/node/5171