Japanese technology group Yaskawa announced that it will intensify its presence in Europe, with the aim of becoming one of the two leading manufacturers of industrial robots in strategic target markets in the medium term. This investment plan follows a successful first wave of expansion initiated in 2014, which included the acquisition of The Switch, one of the leading manufacturers of advanced drive train technology for the marine, wind energy and industrial sectors. This makes Yaskawa one of the few global companies able to supply components and solutions for almost all industries from a single source.
Yaskawa is expanding its European activities through investments in the existing robot business as well as electric drive technology. The company most recently extended its business model through strategic acquisitions in the fields of industrial control technology and ‘Green Energy’. The company plans to expand its production capacities and open a new robot manufacturing plant and a new European robotics development centre in Slovenia in addition to its existing production facilities in Japan and China. Two hundred additional jobs will be created.
The first Yaskawa Motoman robots from all-European production are expected to roll off the production line in 2018. The factory should satisfy about 80% of the European demand for robots. Total investments are estimated to be in the order of 25 million euros.
As one of the biggest global players in the industrial robot sector with more than 350,000 installed units sold and a leading international supplier of drive and automation technology, Yaskawa is pursuing an ambitious expansion strategy in Europe. In doing so the company, which was founded in 1915, is intentionally bucking the international trend towards relocating technological know-how and production competence from Europe to Asia.
Today, Yaskawa employs about 350 development and application engineers in Europe. The new production and development capacities will permit even faster customized robotic solutions in Europe. This will also strengthen the cooperation with OEMs in these markets. In addition, Yaskawa will be keeping up even more closely with the European market and technological trends. With the acquisition of The Switch, a focus is being placed on energy solutions in the field of wind power and the electrification of ship drives.
“Europe is a leader in many technologies, and we want to consistently demonstrate to our customers that we are happy to be here and engage in the joint development of even more efficient solutions,” says Manfred Stern, President and CEO of Yaskawa Europe, Corporate Vice President of Yaskawa Electric.
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About Yaskawa
With an annual sales volume of more than 410 billion Yen (about 3.6 billion euros), Yaskawa is a world-leading manufacturer of servo drives (Sigma-7 Series), inverter drives (such as the GA700), and Motoman industrial robots. Founded in 1915 in Japan, the company’s philosophy has been based on the principle of highest quality for more than 100 years, making Yaskawa a global leader. The wide range of Yaskawa’s business activities covers drives (inverters), motion control (AC servo motors and drives, machine control), robotics (industrial robots and robotics systems), systems engineering (medium voltage inverters, generators, converters), and information technology (software-based products). VIPA GmbH in Herzogenaurach, which specialises in visualisation and process automation, has also formed part of Yaskawa since 2012. Furthermore, Yaskawa acquired The Switch Engineering Cooperation, which does business in the wind turbine sector, in October 2014. This makes Yaskawa one of the few global companies able to supply components and solutions for almost all industries from a single source. Extensive investments in research and development have yielded numerous inventions, patents and innovations. These technological aspirations have enabled the Drives & Motion and Robotics divisions to achieve a leading market position in various industries including manufacturing systems and plant engineering (packaging machines, pumps/compressors, textile machines, digital printing machines, cranes and hoisting gear, equipment for semiconductor and electronics production, machines for producing and processing wood, glass, metal and stone) as well as lift, automotive, assembly and handling technology. The uses for Motoman industrial robots include robot-based welding, laboratory automation, packaging and handling, as well as automated painting. Today, Yaskawa Europe GmbH, based in Eschborn near Frankfurt, operates three divisions – Drives & Motion (drives and control technology), Robotics (industrial robots) and VIPA Controls (automation and control technology) – and services the markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the region of the former Soviet Union. www.yaskawa.eu.com
About The Switch
The Switch, a Yaskawa company, is a pioneer in advanced drive train technology. The company has an installed base of over 11 GW of megawatt-class permanent magnet machine and converter packages. The main focus areas are wind, marine and special industrial solutions. The company’s innovative drive trains make an impact on profitable power generation and energy use, with the ultimate goal of lowering the cost of energy and operations. The Switch is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.
www.theswitch.com