Tamiya Philippines Factory

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

First, credit to TamiyaBlog for posting this and citing the source:  https://tamiyablog.com/2022/04/tamiya-japan-planning-to-build-a-new-production-plant-in-cebu-for-1-5-billion-php/

Source:  https://timeattackmanila.com/features/hobby/so-tamiya-is-building-a-new-p15b-factory-in-cebu/

I just find the numbers interesting.  The magnitude of the business, and where the product is going...

• $23M USD in production value per year
• 65% of product going to Japan
• 12% to USA
• 10% to Germany
• 7% to UK
• 2% to Thailand
• 2% to Hong Kong
• 4% to the rest of the world

Actually, if you add it up the article shows 102% so something is slightly off with the proportions.

Thoughts:

• We often mention on this site how Tamiya serves Japan first, and the rest of the world is kind of an afterthought.  The numbers seem to support this.  If 65% of the product is going to Japan, then Tamiya should care what its Japanese customer base is interested in.
• The 1.5B PHP investment in a new factory space is about $28M USD, so it seems reasonable in light of the value of annual production.  It's not like they would invest $200M USD for that level of output.
• It seems like we've had a few threads in the past about which kits come from which factory (Japan or Philippines).  I don't recall the proportion of production, but it seems like quite a few of the ABS/PC-based kits come from the Philippines while the PA/nylon/metal kits come from Japan.
• I don't blame them one bit for re-releases, parts reuse across several chassis, and mixing bodies/wheels/tires/chassis.  The challenge is offering new ideas or new combinations of ideas but not overspending on molds/tools.  Historically we've questioned why they didn't get into short course trucks, better scaler/crawler trucks, and maybe some other product categories.  Maybe it was a combination of what sells in Japan, tool investment, and market timing that made them shy away from certain niche vehicles.
• I'm thankful Tamiya is willing to make the investment in a new facility and continue supporting the RC product range.
• I'm thankful they still make great body sets.
• If I had any wish, maybe it would be for more USA-specific subjects in their body sets.  Lots of muscle cars, performance cars, classic Corvettes, and other notable USA vehicles would be welcome.  I know they could do this with the level of detail we've come to expect in their other body sets.  The Ford Mustang Cobra R, Mustang GT4, and Ford GT are a few kits to mention, but some GM and Mopar would be nice too.  But this is my bias, just as I'm sure others here have their wishes.

Numbers and thoughts after a long day at work...

 

[Nicadraus 6201]

For the Japanese, their local market is very important which is why priority goes to them first. In 1:1 cars, motor bikes, scooters, consumer electronic and even toys, they have a lot of Japan exclusive market only. The Nissan GTR R32/33/34 for example was made solely for theirs only. All other cars of such models outside Japan were exported independently and not by the Nissan company as a car to be sold outside. Many electronic consumer products are also made exclusively for them. Such as the Technics turntable variant models SL1200MK3, MK4, MK3D, and MK5G were all made not to be sold outside Japan.

As for Tamiya, I believe that the products goes thru Japan first before being exported to the rest of the countries/region not listed above. Main reason why 65% of the product goes to them first. The sole distributor in the Philippines is Lil's Hobby Center. Majority of the products sold there are imported from Japan and they can't have direct access in Cebu even though it is made in the same country. It still has to go through that same export/import process.

[Willy iine 18806]

Great info, @speedy_w_beans, thanks for sharing.   I too am very grateful Tamiya is willing to invest so much on keeping our hobby going.  

 

One of the pioneer people that helped establish the first Philippines factory sits about 60ft from me at work.   No, I do not work for Tamiya.    I'll have to ask if I can be introduced to the product development team next time I visit Hamamatsu.   I've passed by Tamiya HQ several times, but was during my RC hiatus so never bothered to stop in.

[Ferruz 11703]

Thanks for sharing such interesting information @speedy_w_beans.

[Killajb 1546]

Was just at the Tamiya headquarters last week.  Official business of course (for me).  Okay, was just a tour of the museum but still..  Here in Japan I am still wondering who Tamiya's target audience really is.  I see a lot of other manufacturers taking advantage of popular RC niches (drift, crawler, etc) and sold out while shelves are fully stocked with XB kits which hardly seem to move.  I'm sure I'm missing something somewhere, as the numbers reflect quite a different story.

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

Josh gives a good summary at 9:21 into the video

 

[alvinlwh 5895]

8 hours ago, speedy_w_beans said:

We often mention on this site how Tamiya serves Japan first, and the rest of the world is kind of an afterthought.  The numbers seem to support this.  If 65% of the product is going to Japan, then Tamiya should care what its Japanese customer base is interested in.

Mainly about static models, but the same principle apply to RC.

Way back in the 80s when I started, it was Tamiya or nothing*. Well, not quite true, there is Hasagawa, Gunze and a few others, but still mainly Japanese. Those days brands like Testors, Revell, Airfix are less common, and more expensive, in where I was from.

So we grew up adopting to Tamiya's (and Japanese's) way in general.

Do you know that in those days, most Japanese (not just Tamiya) companies did not bother to translate their instructions? Just get a very old kit and you will see what I mean. Mixed (Japanese and English) instructions only came out in around the 90s and the English bit is a shorter version of the Japanese bit. Fully localised instructions only came out after Y2K IIRC.

In those days, without the internet, forums like this or Google Translate, we usually have no idea how to use a product and had to experiment our way through our model making journey.

So yes, Tamiya (and most Japanese companies) are interested in what their home market wants, either the ROTW adopts to them or go elsewhere. It often make me laugh when I see request/wish for Tamiya to produce hotrod/American car, not saying they had/will not do it, but it will be near the bottom of their to do list. Instead they (and other Japanese model companies) produce what we in the west will consider ugly cars like Nissian Cube, Toyota Alphard, etc as those are the cars their customers drive (why they buy such ugly cars in the Far East is another discussion for another day).

For the static world, there are many new companies like Dragon, Hobbyboss, AFV Club, etc... that had taken up the void left by Tamiya. To be honest, their quality is also better than Tamiya, while being cheaper. Not sure what other good alternatives for RC though. My wish is some of these newer HK/CN/KR companies will go into making RC in the future.

*BTW: Do you know the 1:35 scale for military models was set by Tamiya the 1960s? They lead and others follow/copy, sometimes better/cheaper. Also, there is a great book called The Tamiya Story that gives the reader some insight on how this company works.

[acprc 1443]

To be honest I am surprised at the $23M figure. I expected that to be more but then production value v sales value will be different.

[87lc2 2666]

14 hours ago, acprc said:

To be honest I am surprised at the $23M figure. I expected that to be more but then production value v sales value will be different.

I was surprised by that number as well.  Even at cost that's a pretty small number.  Wonder what the numbers are on their other factories...

[Mechanic AH 581]

Thanks for sharing this article @speedy_w_beans . I might be wrong but some time ago I saw an article in a Japanese blog about how Tamiya's static model segment is quite a larger share than the RC segment. I always wondered what portion/percent that is. Now I wonder how big Mini4WD for Tamiya is.

On 4/12/2022 at 9:42 PM, Nicadraus said:

For the Japanese, their local market is very important which is why priority goes to them first.

That seems fairly accurate across the board (not just with Tamiya), at least from what I've seen. So it's no surprise to me when Tamiya doesn't just go with the western trends or demands.

[BuggyGuy 1106]

I wonder how much of the stock destined to Japan actually ends up leaving again because of sites like PJ, and same for the other territories.

Personally I've had a lot of bits from Far East stores, quite a lot of stuff from Germany, and more recently a few TRF bits from the US.

I guess those figures would be pretty impossible to even start to get at though!

[rich_f 233]

On 4/13/2022 at 2:42 AM, Nicadraus said:

The Nissan GTR R32/33/34 for example was made solely for theirs only. All other cars of such models outside Japan were exported independently and not by the Nissan company as a car to be sold outside.

Nissan in the uk sold a small number of R34 GTRs, and they came with uk-specific features like a speedo in miles per hour, and several other differences. They came with a Nissan warranty, too.

Regarding Tamiya's distribution numbers, I'm surprised how unpopular it appears to be in most of the world. But actually, as @BuggyGuy alludes, maybe the rest of the world gets their supply from one of the other regions mentioned. 

[SuperChamp82 743]

Great thread @speedy_w_beans 

Agree with all your points + can’t help wonder if we’re in for stock shorts / price bubbles as / when production crosses over to the new factory ? 

I’ve been part of transitions moving manufacturing between (and from old to new) sites a number of times and none went w/o some degree of disruption 🙄

Quality control at the new line is also always an issue - will there be rare / one off gaffs for the collectors ?

Ditto the possible loss of current moulds / tooling as accidents inevitably happen ?

Will old PH kits now become more sought after when the new line carries new product codes ? Like when Tamiya move factories in Japan back in the day ?

Finally, a 5% efficiency bump with 20% additional capacity tends to suggest more shelling peas / little innovation coming our way - although clever stuff could still be done in Japan I suppose 🤔

A rare and v interesting insight into Tamiya’s economics regardless 👍

PS @alvinlwh Tamiya produced English / Japanese manuals from their first RC 934 in 1976 - although you’re right that a lot of others didn’t 

[alvinlwh 5895]

5 minutes ago, SuperChamp82 said:

PS @alvinlwh Tamiya produced English / Japanese manuals from their first RC 934 in 1976 - although you’re right that a lot of others didn’t

They might have, but as most of my 4 decades of experience was with static models, I am mainly talking about them. 

To expand a bit, say 34101, my first kit IIRC, does not have English instructions or history (their static kits have a brief history of the subject, really handy in those days where there was no Wikipedia). I think they have an English sheet in the rere but the box is still Japanese only. 

To go further, relating to the original post about Tamiya catering more for domestic market. Take their Waterline Series for example, it was a project between the big 3 (I think a 4th was added later) model companies to produce a model of each and every one IJN ship of WWII.

https://www.tamiya.com/english/waterline/various_topics/various_topics2.htm

They barely produced any western ships until recently, and when they do, they are listed as "foreign" navy. 

https://www.tamiya.com/english/waterline/foreign_ship.htm

[SupraChrgd82 1425]

Corrections about export info toward the end of the video