A Photographic History of DaifukuIntroducing one of the World’s Largest Full-Scale Material Handling and Logistics Demo Centers

The Hini Arata Kan exhibition hall
The Hini Arata Kan exhibition hall

In 1994, Daifuku opened Hini Arata Kan at Shiga Works, giving visitors the chance to see our cutting-edge material handling systems in action. Anticipating severe labor shortages in the future, Hini Arata Kan was established as a way to promote material handling—a means of furthering automation and improving efficiency—to a wide audience.

Until Hini Arata Kan opened, Daifuku invited customers to Shiga Works and Komaki Works, using the factories themselves as presentation venues to show our products. However, we were limited by the small number of products and application scenarios we could use to showcase our solutions. Hini Arata Kan gave us the means to introduce a variety of material handling systems in action, compare products, and receive valuable insight from customers. Many visitors compared the facility to the logistics exhibitions offered annually in Japan at the time. Being able to see a large number of products in action was helpful for customers considering new systems.

At 20,000 square meters across three floors, the exhibition hall at Hini Arata Kan is one of the largest in the world. The facility showcases a wide range of products, including automobile production line systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, AGVs, picking and sortation systems, and auxiliary parts and equipment. The name “Hini Arata” was chosen through an internal company contest, matching Daifuku’s company creed.

We have continued to build on the facility since it first opened, adding an exhibition area for our partner’s logistics-related products in 1999, and fully renovating the facility in 2022. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024, Hini Arata Kan includes displays for more than 50 of Daifuku’s latest material handling systems and equipment. We welcome visitors from throughout Japan and abroad, including government officials and local elementary school students. Since it first opened, Hini Arata Kan has hosted more than 530,000 visitors (including in-house event participants) from some 90 countries and regions. The facility’s rooftop also features a solar power system, and since 2014, Hini Arata Kan runs with net-zero carbon emissions through carbon offsetting.

  • Automobile production line system

    Automobile production line system

  • Case sortation system

    Case sortation system

Through Hini Arata Kan, we will continue showcasing our advanced technologies and systems, proposing various solutions to the wide variety of customer needs.

  • * This article is based on the content of “Daifuku Group 70th Anniversary Magazine: Material Handling and Beyond” and other documents.

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