Recently, as I was preparing for a presentation, I decided to forego our boilerplate corporate presentation and develop a more concise overview of Yaskawa’s global capability. During this process, I came across seven things that many people may not know about Yaskawa.
1. Yaskawa was founded in 1915 by Keiichiro Yasukawa in Southern Japan. Initially, Yaskawa supplied large electric motors to the coal mining industry.
2. While mechatronics is a ubiquitous term today, its origin dates back to 1969, when Mr. Tetsuro Mori, a senior engineer at Yaskawa, first used it to describe the combination of mechanics and electronics.
3. Yaskawa’s Global Reach consists of over 14,000 employees located in 25 countries. Yaskawa’s business segments include Robotics, Motion and Inverter Drives, System Engineering and Information Technology. The map below shows our global footprint.
4. Our installed base consists of over 300,000 robots, 10,000,000 servos and 18,000,000 inverter drives. No other company can claim such a large installed base.
5. In addition to robots, servos and power inverters, we also have products for physical therapy and personal mobility. This includes the TEM LX2 system and the Ankle-Assist device. In Sept 2013 Yaskawa invested in Argo Medical Technologies, who produces the ReWalk.
Physical Therapy Robot for the Lower Extremities; Ankle-Assist Walking Device
6. Sustainability and alternative energy is important to society’s future and we are investing heavily in wind and solar technology to help address global energy challenges. Our product offering includes large-scale wind power generation for commercial applications, small-scale wind / hydro power generation systems for residential use and power conditioners for photovoltaic generated power with capacities ranging from 4.5kW up to 100kW. Additionally, in July of this year, Yaskawa acquired Solectria Renewables a leading U.S.-based grid-tied photovoltaic inverter manufacturer.
7. We also have leading technology in electric vehicle motors and inverters, as well as EV rapid charging stations.
As indicated above, Yaskawa is a unique and driven organization that is determined to provide best-in-class products as-well-as develop solutions for our shared future.
By Tim DeRosett, Director of Strategic Initiatives
