News Release

Sep. 1, 2005
Daifuku Co., Ltd. (Headquarters in Osaka under President and CEO Katsumi Takeuchi) establishes the subsidiary company as described below, for the purpose of further globalization through the expansion of local production of LCD and semiconductor manufacturing line product operations.

Corporate Profile

Company name:

Taiwan Daifuku Co., Ltd.

Headquarters
/ Factory location:

Southern Taiwan Science Park
No.26, Daye 1st Road, Sinshih Township
Tainan County, Taiwan

Paid-in capital:

NTD 200 million (approx. JPY 700 million)

Investment:

Daifuku Co., Ltd. (100%)

Start of operations
(scheduled):

March 2006

Representatives:

Hideyuki Ikeda, Chairman
(Executive Officer of Daifuku Co., Ltd.)

Business scope:

Development, design, manufacture, assembly, installation, and after-sale service of LCD/semiconductor manufacture line systems

Business year:

January - December

Background and Overview of Establishment

Daifuku is establishing a wholly owned overseas affiliated firm in Science Park, located in southern Taiwan, and is constructing a manufacturing plant for LCD and semiconductor manufacturing line systems. In Taiwan, investment activities have followed on the heels of dramatically increased demand and rapidly enlarging flat-screen TVs. We have been involved in local production since the year 2000, using a factory leased near the delivery destinations. The establishment of this new subsidiary will provide us with a full-fledged independent production base. It will also allow us to significantly strengthen the business structure comprising the advanced localization of an integrated system including sales, design, manufacture, installation and after-sale service, in turn resulting in reduced cost and delivery time. Additionally, we are endeavoring to meet Taiwan's growing demand in domestic production.
This new company, which is to be called Taiwan Daifuku Co., Ltd. (hereinafter called "Taiwan Daifuku"), is capitalized with 200 million NT dollars (approx. 700 million yen). Our plan is to launch the company with a staff of 16, including four Japanese at the company start-up. The number of staff members will increase to 40 by the start of manufacturing operations in April 2006, and will then increase to 60 or so by 2007.
Daifuku established a wholly owned subsidiary, Daifuku Pioneer Co., Ltd. (DPC) in Taiwan in 1996, and has offered the sales, installation and after-sale service of general distribution systems. DPC will collaborate with the new company in the future in terms of installation and services in the area of systems designed for LCD and semiconductor manufacturing lines. It will also function as a delivery center and undertake the automobile manufacturing line product operations.
The headquarters and factory of the new company Taiwan Daifuku will be located in Southern Taiwan Science Park, a science-based industrial area spread across Tainan County and Kaohsiung. The site area is approximately 40,000 square meters, with approximately 12,000 square meters contained within a two-story architectural area. The main products will be stockers and the peripheral equipment used in a "cleanroom." Accordingly, the new factory will feature a manufacturing process that is carried out in a cleanroom of approximately 5,100 square meters. The total production cost is 260 million NT dollars (approx. 890 million yen).
The Southern Taiwan Science Park has become the prominent high-tech center of Taiwan, comprising more than 150 companies involved in LCD products, semiconductor products, and associated components, etc. By securing base in a location that facilitates close contact with customers, we will actively engage in new product developments and further increase our trade volume, the latter of which will be achieved through improved sales and enhanced after-sale services.
The local production of Daifuku's products used in LCD and semiconductor manufacturing lines has meanwhile been advancing through our overseas subsidiary in Korea. Therefore, globalization will be accelerated with the establishment of a new subsidiary in Taiwan.

Future Outlook