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Meeting the growing global demand for automatic transmissions |
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The history of Honda motorcycle manufacturing began in 1949 with the start of production of the Dream D motorcycle in Hamamatsu. Ever since, Honda has continued to make innovative products in Hamamatsu and elsewhere, expanding from motorcycles to automobiles, and from Japan to the world, with a rapidly diversifying lineup of products. Today, mid-size and larger motorcycles, automobile transmissions, 4-stroke marine outboards and other Honda products are built in Hamamatsu.
Automatic transmissions are a core product. Some 20-25% of the automatic transmissions for Honda automobiles, and about 60% of the gears that are a key component of automatic transmissions, are made here. As the automobile market expands, demand for automatic transmissions expands as well.
To meet demand, Honda has established a new factory in Georgia, US, and strengthened and expanded its production capacity in China. At the same time, Hamamatsu Factory has been assigned the responsibility of leading the way in introducing innovations and strengthening Honda’s automatic transmission manufacturing systems as part of the Pioneer Automatic Transmission Project. Hamamatsu Factory’s mission is to help extend the foundation of expertise and technical skill to Honda’s facilities worldwide. |
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Cultivating engineering talent to foster innovation in automatic transmissions |
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To strengthen the development of automobile production engineering worldwide, Honda currently has some 160 engineers from Hamamatsu Factory working on assignment in North America, China, Indonesia and elsewhere. Also, Hamamatsu Factory welcomes trainee engineers from facilities all over the world. The training of young engineers requires considerable experience, knowledge and expertise, as well as a long-term commitment.
A key long-term objective of the project is to provide young engineers with the expertise to optimize production lines, upgrade production equipment and handle other key tasks that call for a high level of technical skill. To cultivate their talents, plans are in place to institute hands-on education programs within factories to ensure that training is practical and focused on the actual places where engineers work, the actual objects they work with and the actual issues they face. |
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| Hideaki Masuda |
| Pioneer Automatic Transmission Project Hamamatsu Factory |
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| Hamamatsu Factory |
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| Automatic transmission production training |
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