(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Kobe to Use Camstar System in Disk Wafer Plants
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September 23, 1998 (BOSTON) -- Kobe Precision, a division of Japan's
Kobe Steel, Ltd., said it will use Camstar Systems Inc.'s MESA manufacturing
execution system in its U.S. and Malaysian disk wafer plants.
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The MESA system from Campbell, Calif.-based Camstar reduces production
inventory and improves a manufacturer's ability to meet deliveries,
the company said.
Kobe Precision will use the software in both its Hayward, Calif. plant,
Kobe Precision Inc., and its Penang, Malaysia plant, Kobe Precision
Technology.
Kobe Precision is a leading supplier of aluminum disk substrates to the
disk manufacturing industry. It said it will be using the Camstar manufacturing
software to help fine-tune manufacturing operations, increase process
yields and maintain high standards of product quality.
At the Hayward plant, Camstar's manufacturing execution system (MES)
will also be used to control and track the production process for the
newly created Kobe wafer reclaim division.
According to Robert Rebosura, Kobe's director of information technology,
the Camstar MES was selected because it was able to handle both the
disk substrate and wafer reclaim operations, making it possible for
Kobe to standardize on MESA and use the same MES for the two different
types of manufacturing.
"Camstar's configurable process modeling and flexible data structure
capabilities enabled us to familiarize ourselves with one system, and
then adapt it quickly to both sets of manufacturing requirements," Rebosura
said. "We also were impressed that Camstar is the MES leader in the
disk drive industry. That enabled them to deliver a complete turnkey
solution that will help us to immediately control and improve the efficiency
of our manufacturing operations."
Camstar's MESA manufacturing execution system is a set of modules that
control and manage the flow of product as it moves across the manufacturing
plant floor. Based on client/server technology, MESA captures information
about the manufacturing process in real time -- storing, analyzing,
and presenting that information as in-process intelligence so that plant
management can easily track product, maintain work-in-process inventory
and optimize production processes.
MESA uses COM/DCOM client technology and has an ActiveX interface module
that is designed to integrate with existing shop floor control applications.
This will allow Kobe to retain the investment it has already made in
developing Visual Basic user interfaces for their shop floor controls.
"The resulting tight integration of MESA into our manufacturing operation
will enable us to provide immediate response to errant conditions,"
Rebosura said. "And that will allow us to maintain the stable production
environment that we need to remain competitive."
He said his company also plans to implement "kanban" just-in-time methodologies
using MESA to further reduce inventory and provide more timely delivery
of customer orders.
(Lori Valigra, Asia BizTech Correspondent)
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