Bandai to Build Major New Gunpla Production Factory to Meet Surging Global Demand
Image by Charlotte DavisBandai Spirits has announced another major expansion of its plastic model manufacturing network, with a new Osaka factory set to increase production as demand for Gunpla continues to grow in Japan and around the world.
Named “Bandai Hobby Center Osaka,” the new site is being established in Sakai City and will become the company’s first dedicated plastic model production facility anywhere in western Japan.
The move forms part of Bandai’s wider effort to increase the number of kits it can produce, with the company previously acknowledging that expanding Gunpla production capacity remains an important challenge as worldwide demand continues to rise.
Bandai has already invested heavily in its existing Shizuoka operations, with the newer BHCPDII factory built alongside the original Bandai Hobby Center and designed to increase overall plastic model production capacity by around 35 percent compared with fiscal 2024 levels.
BHCPDII significantly expands the original site’s manufacturing capabilities through highly automated production and logistics systems, allowing processes including molding, bagging and boxing to be handled more efficiently within the same facility.
The wider Shizuoka complex is also home to the BHCPDII MUSEUM, where visitors can watch parts of the production process and follow how Gunpla and other Bandai model kits progress from planning and design through mold creation, injection molding, and final packaging.
That museum has since expanded access for international visitors and added its own THE GUNDAM BASE store, making the manufacturing site considerably easier for overseas fans to visit while also giving them direct access to official Gunpla retail space.
Bandai expects interest in Gunpla to keep growing as new Gundam anime and games introduce the franchise to a wider global audience, increasing the need for additional production capacity in both Japan and overseas markets.
Bandai Hobby Center Osaka adds another production base to that growing network, occupying approximately 3,360 square meters inside Mitsui Fudosan Logistics Park Sakai.
Seven of Bandai’s multi-color molding machines will initially operate at the facility, using technology that can mold multiple colors and materials together within the same parts production process.
These machines are an important part of Bandai’s plastic model manufacturing, allowing complex multi-colored parts to be produced directly on runners and reducing the amount of painting needed to recreate their intended appearance.
Rather than replacing the company’s Shizuoka factories, the Osaka site will work alongside both the original Bandai Hobby Center and BHCPDII to create a broader and more stable production network.
Location also played a major role in the decision to expand into Osaka, with Bandai specifically highlighting the transport advantages offered by manufacturing in western Japan.
The company plans to make greater use of export ports in the region, improving logistics for products moving through its domestic and international distribution networks while reducing the concentration of production around Shizuoka.
Gunpla remains central to Bandai’s plastic model business, with the company continuing to expand both manufacturing and retail operations as it develops the franchise for a larger global audience.
Osaka is becoming increasingly important on the retail side as well, with Bandai recently announcing the city’s first permanent THE GUNDAM BASE store for a major new location directly above JR Osaka Station.
That store will cover around 1,227 square meters and combine Gunpla sales with Gundam merchandise, exhibitions and model-building experiences, giving western Japan a major new official Gundam destination alongside the incoming manufacturing facility.
Bandai Hobby Center Osaka is scheduled to begin operations in November 2026, joining the existing Bandai Hobby Center and BHCPDII facilities as Bandai continues expanding plastic model production to meet demand in Japan and overseas.
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