Illustrated Reportage "Visits to Sumitomo Group"
Kakegawa Plant
NEC Platforms

NEC Platforms, a member of the NEC Group, provides ICT systems and solutions. The products manufactured vary from plant to plant and include communications equipment, servers, and submarine cable repeaters. The Kakegawa Plant, which we visited, manufactures home routers, mobile routers, wireless terminals, and automotive products. Completed in April 2023, the new Building A employs cutting-edge technologies such as autonomous mobile robots, local 5G, and quantum annealing, and has attracted considerable attention, with more than 200 groups of corporate visitors touring the facility each year.

The new Building A is bustling with autonomous mobility robots (AMRs; approximately 80cm x 75cm x 55cm) and automated guided vehicles (AGVs), which follow magnetic tape.
Each AGV has a main body measuring approximately 110cm x 50cm x 25cm that slips beneath a trolley to move it. The plant produces some 3 million network-related devices annually.

Illustration of Mr. Hayakawa from NEC Platforms' Kakegawa Plant. His favorite phrase is Value Creation.

The rooftop of the new four-story Building A is equipped with a solar power system that generates approximately 281MWh annually and reduces CO₂ emissions by approximately 120 tons.

Robots crisscross the spacious floor, delivering parts and collecting circuit boards. This is the new Building A at NEC Platforms’ Kakegawa Plant. Completed in April 2023, the new facility stands within a manufacturing complex that produces routers and other network-related equipment.

Mr. Shouichi Hayakawa, General Manager of the Kakegawa Plant, explains: “Against the background of semiconductor shortages and rising geopolitical risks, there is a growing need to establish domestic production capabilities for communications equipment that supports critical infrastructure. The new Building A is designed to withstand earthquakes with a seismic intensity of approximately 6 to 7 and to ensure that production of communications network equipment can continue even in an emergency.”

The most distinctive feature of the new Building A, which incorporates advanced technology as part of its transformation into a smart factory, is its local 5G network, which enables multiple autonomous transport robots to operate simultaneously. Curious to see what the robots actually do, we quickly changed into lab coats, put on caps, and headed into the new factory. Our first stop was a facial recognition gate. Cameras instantly recognize and authenticate employees’ faces, eliminating the need for access cards. Facial recognition is also used to control access to restricted areas, providing a high level of security.

The building has four above-ground floors, with a total production floor area of approximately 9,300 square meters. The second through fourth floors handle everything from circuit board production to packaging. Each floor has an air shower booth, where everyone undergoes a full-body air shower for about 20 seconds before entering.

Mr. Hayakawa explains: “The second floor is used for mounting surface-mount components. Tiny electronic components measuring just 0.4mm x 0.2mm are soldered onto circuit boards for network equipment. Even slight vibrations in the building can affect precision, so soldering is carried out on a lower floor, where the effects of vibration are less pronounced. Add-on components are mounted on the third floor, while assembly, inspection, and packaging take place on the fourth floor.”

Four images introducing automated equipment at the Kakegawa Plant. Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR): navigates while determining its position using an onboard camera. Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV): follows magnetic tape along a fixed route. Monitors for tracking robot movements: the system autonomously controls the positions and movements of AGVs and AMRs. Products manufactured at the Kakegawa Plant: routers, now an everyday essential, are manufactured right here.

Two types of robots crisscross the factory floor. One is the automated guided vehicle (AGV), which follows magnetic tape, and the other is the autonomous mobile robot (AMR), which is controlled via local 5G. “AMRs are like taxis, moving flexibly around the floor as needed. AGVs, on the other hand, are like freight trains, carrying large quantities of goods along predetermined routes,” explains Mr. Hayakawa.

For example, AGVs transport parts from the logistics building. Incidentally, even these parts are thoroughly cleaned with high-velocity air jets to remove dust and other particles before being supplied to the mounting line, thus maintaining rigorously clean conditions throughout the process.

Meanwhile, multiple AMRs move freely around the floor without colliding with AGVs. A V-SLAM camera mounted on the front of each robot captures 20 frames per second, which are used to determine its position. NEC’s Multi-Robot Controller then calculates the optimal route, preventing congestion and collisions at intersections. This system is made possible by local 5G, which enables high-speed transmission and reception of large volumes of data. “I’m told there are only a few factories that have put local 5G to practical use in their operations to this extent,” says Mr. Hayakawa with pride.

Another notable feature is the use of quantum annealing technology to optimize production planning. Until now, determining which models to produce and in what order to maximize efficiency relied on the experience and know-how of veterans who knew the factory floor inside and out. This knowledge has now been defined in terms of parameters, and a system has been introduced that uses a computational method known as quantum annealing to instantly derive the optimal solution. For example, four dual lines (equivalent to eight lines) operate on the second floor. If parts need to be replenished on several lines at the same time, a large number of personnel must be assigned to the task simultaneously. By optimizing the production sequence and staggering replenishment times, fewer personnel can manage multiple lines.

Two illustrations of equipment at the Kakegawa Plant. Production line: some tasks involve people and machines working together. Air shower pass box: high-velocity air jets remove dust and other particles.

Through the automation and advancement of these manufacturing processes, the Kakegawa Plant exceeded its target of a 30% increase in overall production efficiency, set when the new Building A began operations, during fiscal 2025. Equipped with advanced technologies, high-level security, a rigorously clean environment, and a solar power system that generates electricity for on-site consumption, this building attracts more than 200 groups from companies and other organizations for site visits each year. Yet, as Mr. Hayakawa points out, “We’re still evolving.” Automated coordination between AGVs and elevators is currently being tested. Underlying these efforts is the “Client Zero” concept: NEC Platforms itself becomes the first customer to implement cutting-edge technologies, accumulating knowledge of the challenges that arise and how to solve them, and then uses this expertise to provide solutions to other companies facing similar challenges. It will be fascinating to see how this smart factory continues to evolve.

Editor's note

Just inside the main entrance, I found a showroom displaying products manufactured at the Kakegawa Plant over the years. The plant began in the 1970s as a production base for black-and-white televisions and has since adapted to the changing times, producing everything from modems and pagers to flip phones. In one corner was a miniature laboratory built to 1/12 scale. When a piece of network equipment manufactured at the Kakegawa Plant was reproduced as a capsule toy, the laboratory where it was developed was recreated in its entirety. The resulting diorama is meticulously detailed, right down to the desks and computer screens. It struck me as a wonderful reflection of a corporate culture with a genuine love of making things.