The company said in a statement that production could have continued at its Tsukuba plant and Komori Machinery, based near Tokyo, following damage and safety assessments, but that partner companies, particularly in the Tohoku area, had been badly affected.

Komori was not available at the time of writing to comment on whether the production hiatus would affect supply of machinery and parts outside of the country.

The earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit the north eastern side of the country 11 March and the company formed a Disaster Countermeasures Office to assess the impact.

As well as issues with its production partners, some 172 customers running 445 presses have been affected with 10 presses having shifted as much as 30cm in the quake, and many customers reported broken motors, displaced units and water leaks. The company is repairing damaged presses.

Meanwhile, Roland DG said that its facilities in the Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture had not been affected by the disaster.

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