A single Hiroshima hub feeding every Mazda plant abroad makes the Mazda KD Center central to the reliability of its global production
Mazda has completed the Mazda KD Center at Hiroshima Port, a logistics hub that will ship knockdown (KD) parts to every one of its vehicle assembly plants outside Japan. Due to start operating in January 2027, the facility in the port’s Dejima district will receive, store and pack parts before loading them into ocean containers.
It replaces an older KD centre in the port’s Kaita district. Alongside sits an international container terminal that Japan’s government and Hiroshima Prefecture are developing for larger vessels, which Mazda expects to make overseas supply more reliable.
With every overseas plant drawing on one hub, throughput and resilience matter. Storage, retrieval and palletising are automated, and dedicated forklift operators unload supplier trucks to cut handling times and ease driver workloads. Rooftop solar panels rated at 2.2 MW supply part of the power for the 35,000 m² building.
“From Hiroshima, we bring the manufacturing capabilities we have continuously honed here to the world, working as one with overseas production sites to deliver value to our customers,” Kazuhiko Sumi, Managing Executive Officer and Chief Supply Chain Officer, said. “This facility is the starting point for that effort.
“Each and every part shipped from here represents more than just the movement of goods. It ultimately becomes part of a vehicle that meets the expectations of customers around the world and helps build trust in the Mazda brand.”
Source: Mazda
Source: www.automotiveworld.com
