Bandai Spirits Co.'s new factory in Shizuoka City started operating earlier this month. The Tokyo-based toymaker built the factory to boost its production of plastic models, including those from the popular anime series Mobile Suit Gundam, as demand grows both at home and abroad because of the pandemic.
The 1,488-square-meter one-story building was built near an existing plant. In the new factory, six machines, which can simultaneously add four colors to a single mold, were installed.
In fiscal 2019, the original factory shipped 31.26 million plastic Gundam models, 4.3 times more than in fiscal 2006, when it shipped 7.22 million.
The company had taken measures to respond to the rise in demand, such as adding more machines at the existing plant but finally opened a new factory in anticipation of further growth.
The Gundam plastic model, which first went on sale in 1980, celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. By May, total shipments exceeded 700 million units. In recent years, demand has risen mostly in China and other Asian countries, with the overseas market accounting for 50% of the company's annual sales.
"[The company] is attracting a lot of attention at home and abroad with Gundam becoming a PR ambassador for the Japan pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020 and with the making of a live-action version in Hollywood," a Bandai Spirits official said. "We want to increase the popularity of plastic models by working with other model-making companies in Shizuoka, which is also known as hobby city."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
