Mitsubishi Materials USA Accelerates Custom Engineering and Quoting with CADDi Drawing Intelligence

Read the press release on AP News

Manufacturing moves beyond tribal engineering knowledge

CADDi, the pioneer in manufacturing-exclusive AI data platforms that serve as a shared intelligence layer across engineering, sales, and operations, today announced the release of a new customer case study developed with Mitsubishi Materials USA.

Manufacturing organizations are increasingly realizing the need for shared, decision-grade intelligence that sales and engineering teams can access independently, rather than relying on specific knowledgeable employees. This shift reflects growing pressure to respond faster to custom work while maintaining consistency as teams scale and experienced staff retire from the workforce.

Manufacturers supporting high-mix, custom production have relied on years of engineering drawings, pricing history, and quality records. However, these data resources are often difficult to locate and reuse. When this information is fragmented across systems or individuals, teams lose time coordinating, recreating work, and waiting on internal handoffs.

According to Yushiro Kato, CEO and co-founder of CADDi, "We are seeing a clear shift in how manufacturers operate. They're evolving away from the era of tribal engineering knowledge as a bottleneck in decision-making. Manufacturers already have the knowledge they need to work faster and smarter. The most common challenge our customers face is access. This case study shows how making engineering data searchable and reusable across teams changes what's possible."

Turning decades of engineering data into shared intelligence

Founded in 1984, Mitsubishi Materials USA is part of the Mitsubishi Materials group, a global materials and manufacturing company headquartered in Japan. The company provides cutting tools and engineered carbide solutions for turning, milling, drilling, and wear-resistant applications to manufacturers across North America.

Through the CADDi platform, including its CADDi Drawer application, Mitsubishi Materials USA enabled teams to search by easy-to-access info, including customer, tool number, or quote ID, and immediately retrieve related drawings, inspection reports, prior decisions, and more. This quick access reduced manual coordination, improved response times for custom requests, and minimized duplicate engineering work.

Enabling faster decisions without increasing reliance on individuals

The case study highlights how Mitsubishi Materials USA enabled sales and engineering teams to independently access historical engineering drawings, quotes, and related records. By reducing reliance on manual handoffs and making this information searchable and reusable across teams, the company accelerated response for custom work while improving consistency across quoting and engineering workflows.

Centralized access to engineering history also helped standardize how past designs and quality outcomes informed new work. This supported continuity as projects scaled and personnel changed, reducing dependency on individual knowledge holders.

CADDi is an AI powered data platform that makes design and supply chain data accessible and actionable for manufacturing teams. Headquartered in Tokyo and Chicago, the company was founded in 2017 by industry veterans Yushiro Kato and Aki Kobashi, formerly of McKinsey, Apple, and Lockheed Martin.