More than 100 years committed to technical progress has made us the leading manufacturer in the fields of variable AC drives, servo drives, control technology and robotics.
The History of Yaskawa
Origins
Our story begins here, more than 100 years ago. It begins with a strong-willed founder full of passion and ideas. A restless search for innovation and a mission to change the world. That's the core of Yaskawa that has remained unchanged for more than a century. That's just who we are.
Yaskawa Electric was founded by Daigorou Yasukawa in cooperation with his elder brothers in Kurosaki, Kitakyushu City
1915
Our first order product: the “three-phase induction motor 20HP”, at the time often used by coal mining companies
1917
Super synchronous motor with 4,000HP and 250rpm
1927
Conveyor system, adapted for small electronics and switches and ready for industrial production
1937
Revolutionary and user-friendly VS motor which has variable speed and remote control. The first one was used in a double-turn printing press.
1950
Our new Minertia motor, which boosted the speed of response by a hundred times. It is the prototypic figure of todays servomotors.
1958
The years go by...
And with them come innovative ideas, game-changing technologies and our ever-increasing solutions for the world of automation.
"Mechatronics" are born - the term was invented by our engineer Tetsuro Mori
1969
Our legendary robot MOTOMAN-L10 - the basis of current industrial robots - was released
1977
Our compact but powerful AC servo drive "Sigma" series released. It became the cornerstone of the current motion control business.
1992
We created MECHATROLINK - suitable for motion control and founded MECHATROLINK Members Club
2003
Our first 13-axis dual-arm and 7-axis actuator-driven robots
2005
Recently
That's where we stand and this is from where we will take the leap in our future. Watch us go!
VIPA and profichip become part of Yaskawa Europe GmbH
2012
We acquired The Switch, Finland, which would become our new Environmental Energy Division
2014
100 years of Yaskawa - a year to celebrate!
2015
Grand opening of the new offices in Sweden
2018
Grand opening of the European Robot Factory in Slovenia | Acquisition of the Factory automation business unit of ZF Italia s.r.l. | Grand opening of the new offices in France
2019
We sold our 30 millionth AC Drive
2020
20 Million Servodrives produced
2020
Groundbreaking for our new European headquarters in Hattersheim near Frankfurt
2021