DMG Mori, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of advanced machine tools, has started tracking the use of its products to ensure they are not applied to military purposes at a time of rising geopolitical tensions.The German-Japanese company asked clients worldwide from April to install a remote management system that would switch off equipment if it were removed or dismantled.
In a letter sent in late March and seen by the Financial Times, DMG said the installation of the system was aimed at preventing its equipment from being “illegally transferred to individuals or countries that may threaten international security”.
The letter added that the company would refuse to reactivate the equipment if its use violated “applicable export rules”. DMG makes a machine tool used to manufacture everything from passenger cars to fighter jets.