Yaskawa Electric Corporation, a world leader in industrial robotics, electrical drives and frequency converters, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The company is arranging special events worldwide to mark this special milestone. In Finland, Yaskawa will be participating in the Technologia 2015 exhibition in Helsinki, Finland, together with its Finnish subsidiary, The Switch, which it acquired last year.
“Although the name Yaskawa may not be familiar to consumers, they are daily users of products whose production processes rely heavily on Yaskawa products. For example, our robots are used extensively throughout the different phases of car manufacturing as well as in many kinds of materials handling and packaging operations in countless industrial sectors around the world,” explains Nina Lehtinen, CEO of Yaskawa Finland Oy.
Over 300,000 robots developed and manufactured by the company have been installed globally. In addition to the industrial sector, Yaskawa is continually applying its expertise to new areas, such as healthcare, medicine and wellness. As an example, it has participated in the development of the ReWalk robot, which helps many paraplegics walk again.
The second cornerstone of Yaskawa is electric motors and frequency converters for which it is known around the world. Throughout its entire existence, the company has developed high-quality and reliable motion control solutions for demanding applications across the entire power range and medium voltage. Yaskawa is able to also offer servo performance in high power ranges.
Yaskawa and The Switch – together we’re more
In 2014, Yaskawa acquired The Switch to expand into the renewable energy sector and, in particular, into the wind power business. Through the acquisition, Yaskawa boosted its product pallet with The Switch-manufactured megawatt-class permanent magnet generators and full-power converters, which are used in wind turbines and other systems that produce renewable energy. The latest application area for this technology is the marine industry. Ships can decrease both fuel consumption and emissions by using electrical drive trains, therefore increasing their environmental appeal.
“Yaskawa will utilize The Switch experience in specialty applications as well as our distinct way of working close to customers. This approach differs from the conventional ways of simply developing products and selling them through sales channels, while not receiving any direct feedback from the customer. We grow our operations together with our customers by utilizing the latest technology,” explains CEO Jukka-Pekka Mäkinen of The Switch.