CUTTING EDGE; TOP LASER-CUTTING COMPANY OPENS IN VALENCIA.

Byline: Jason Takenouchi Daily News Staff Writer

It was anything but usual.

Using the fully automated technology that has propelled it to the top of the U.S. laser-cutting market, Mazak Nissho Iwai Corp. opened its newest facility Wednesday by creating a flat, freshly cut steel ribbon.

That modern spin on a traditional ribbon-cutting exemplified the kind of technology that the company - the sole U.S. distributor of Japanese Yamazaki Mazak Corp.'s laser-cutting machines - is bringing to the Santa Clarita Valley and the West Coast with its new $2.5 million Western Tech Center.

``The market in the United States is becoming bigger and bigger,'' said company President Eiichi Nishijima. ``The West Coast represents about 15 percent of the total U.S. market, so it's very important to us.''

Officials say the new center will improve the company's customer service, sales and image on the West Coast. The Illinois-based distributor already has about 20 percent of the roughly $300 million to $400 million U.S. laser-cutting market.

Analysts and city officials said the company is an important addition to the Valencia Industrial Center, a 1,500-acre business park that has about 9.4 million square feet of industrial space. The industrial center and its companion park, the Valencia Commerce Center, form the core of Santa Clarita's growing job market.

Mazak Nissho Iwai is exactly what Valencia boosters are trying to attract, said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the nonprofit Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

``This is what we'd have to call a coup for them,'' he said.

``I think its a great idea, and it's a wonderful technology to bring here,'' said Santa Clarita Mayor Jo Anne Darcy. ``It just adds to the image of Santa Clarita.''

Mazak Nissho Iwai is the U.S. marketer and distributor of lasers produced by Yamazaki Mazak Corp., a private, Japan-based builder of high-tech machine tools with an estimated $1.3 billion in worldwide annual sales.

The company's 9,000-square-foot Valencia center will house 5 high-end laser-cutting machines, worth a total of about $2.5 million, with more coming online as they are developed. The machines are capable of cutting anything from pocket-knife blades to tractor frames.

The center will employ fewer than a dozen people, but its primary purpose will be as a training and exhibition hub for the company's West Coast operations.

The Flexible Manufacturing System - a laser-cutting machine capable of running fully automated for 24 hours - was the centerpiece for Wednesday's grand opening. But dozens of guests and buyers were there to do more than look.

``Their presence out here is going to make a big difference,'' said Jim Ellis, manager of customer engineering for Airtronics Metal Products in San Jose. ``We're mostly looking for new technology.''

Ellis said he used to fly to Chicago or visit a competitor's plant to see Mazak Nissho Iwai's newest lasers in action.

Company Vice President Glenn Berkhahn said he looked at between 30 and 40 facilities, from Pasadena to Simi Valley to downtown Los Angeles, before choosing Valencia.

The industrial park's image, tight organization and surrounding community were important factors, he said.

``It was a good community that we saw for the families and our employees, and the industrial park had that high-tech image we were looking for,'' Berkhahn said. ``I would say kudos to the city founders that put this together.''

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color--Ran in SAC Edition only) Mazak's Turbo X-Junior cuts patterns into sheet metal with the thickness of 0.375 inches during a grand opening preview and show at the new Valencia facility.

(2--Color--Ran in SAC Edition only) Mazak President Eiichi Nishijima and Santa Clarita Mayor Jo Anne Darcy hold a laser-cut sheet metal ribbon to open the Valencia facility.

John Lazar/Daily News