Shimano aims for further expansion with its latest Singapore plant

Using its new factory in Singapore as a base, Shimano plans to explore the sports bike market in Southeast Asia, which has a lot of potential.

The chairman and CEO of Yozo Shimano, the largest bicycle component manufacturer in the world, stated in an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia that all of their international factories were under the authority of their Singapore headquarters. He went on to say that its Singapore plant, which primarily produces midrange components, will become even more significant as the demand for bicycles rises in Asia and Latin America.

The previous plant, built in 1973, was replaced by the new one when it went online in 2023. Shimano renovated the facilities with an investment of 25 billion yen ($165 million) in order to boost productivity.

In Sakai, an industrial city south of Osaka, ironworker Shozaburo Shimano founded the company in 1921.

With an estimated 85% market share worldwide, it develops and produces a wide range of parts, including brakes, wheels, gears, and transmissions, mostly for sports bikes like road and mountain bikes.

Major Shimano factories are located in China, the Czech Republic, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan. The Singapore facility concentrates on midrange products, which make up 70% of the company's manufacturing output, in collaboration with the plants in nearby counties.

The chairman, who held the position of fifth president of the business until 2021, stated that the Singapore office has been crucial to the company's international operations' decision-making process. According to him, it determines which foreign facilities require investment and then forwards recommendations to the Japanese headquarters. For medium- to long-term expansion, the corporation will continue to invest roughly 40 billion yen a year in facilities and equipment; sixty percent of this amount will be spent abroad, especially in Singapore.