On June 1, 2015, MISUMI Group Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. Representative Director and CEO: Ryusei Ono) began to produce die components of MISUMI Brand at its North American subsidiary, Dayton Lamina Corporation (DL). The manufacture of die components formerly made at SURUGA USA Corp. (SURUGA USA), Suruga Production Platform's North American plant, will be transferred to DL's plant in Ohio. The manufacture of FA components will be transferred to MISUMI's Nantong Plant in China. By doing so, MISUMI will leverage the manufacturing assets of DL, a company acquired in 2012, and benefit from the consolidation of our production assets in North America. At the same time, we will take advantage of the cost competitiveness and reliable delivery on short lead times achieved by our China Nantong Plant to strengthen our global production regime. Background to the Start of Production of MISUMI Brand Products at DL MISUMI acquired DL, America's largest die components maker, in November 2012. Primary objectives of the acquisition provided: 1. Accelerate global deployment of the MISUMI QCT Model 2. Solidify MISUMI's position as the No. 1 global supplier of die components 3. Create synergies in sales and production Beginning Production of MISUMI-brand Products at North American Subsidiary Dayton Lamina This move to consolidate production assets in North America represents the efforts taken post-acquisition to create production synergies and helps strengthen our global production regime, including the use of DL's production assets. SURUGA USA was established in 1998 as Suruga Production Platform's North American plant. Since, it has manufactured MISUMI-brand die and FA components for primarily the North American market. Meanwhile, DL's Ohio Plant has manufactured Dayton-brand diecomponents. We have introduced MISUMI production methods at DL's Ohio Plant and lowered production costs, all the while studying how best to leverage North American production assets. Our work has progressed to the point where we can anticipate the benefits of consolidating production activities in the US. So, beginning June 1, 2015, DL's Ohio Plant will manufacture MISUMI-brand products alongside Dayton-brand products. The manufacture of all MISUMI-brand die components formerly made by SURUGA USA will be transferred to DL. Building Out an FA Global Supply Chain Capable of Delivering Reliably on Short Lead Meanwhile, the manufacture of FA components formerly made at SURUGA USA will be transferred to our Nantong Plant in China. We are working to make production improvements so as to build out a global FA components supply chain capable of delivering reliably on short lead times, leveraging a tri-polar production regime in Japan, China (Nantong) and Vietnam. Already, the production improvements we have achieved in Japan made it possible to shrink the standard delivery lead time for made-to-order parts from three to two days, effective April 1, 2015. This represents our first reduction in delivery lead times in 25 years. By deploying similar production methods in our Nantong and Vietnam plants, we can achieve fully competitive reliable delivery on short lead times, even when exporting to the US from both plants. Additionally, the consolidation of production activities will help lower costs. When we first acquired DL, we considered leveraging DL's production assets for the back end of our FA businesses. Instead, we have found that for FA components, we can achieve superior cost and delivery lead times leveraging our tri-polar supply regime in Japan, Nantong and Vietnam. Please note the manufacture of parts made to North American specifications and parts manufactured more cheaply at DL will be transferred to DL. Because DL will begin manufacturing MISUMI-brand products, and the manufacture of FA components will be transferred to the China Nantong Plant, SURUGA USA will be closed at the end of August 2015. Moving forward, MISUMI will continue to build out a regime capable of delivering the value of Japan's high standards of quality, low cost and reliably short delivery lead times to the entire world. About MISUMI Group Inc. (http://www.misumi.co.jp/) After the company was founded in 1963, MISUMI Group has operated as a trading company with manufacturing capabilities working in the background in support of manufacturing activities. MISUMI Group business operations comprise FA Mechanical Components Businesses, Die Components Businesses, and the VONA (Variation & One-stop by New Alliance) Business,which sells third-party brands alongside MISUMI products under a new distribution business model. We serve more than 170,000 customers worldwide. Armed with a business model unlike any other in the world, MISUMI strives to drive innovations in high quality (Quality), low costs (Cost) and short delivery times (Time) while we accelerate our global expansion.