Yaskawa Electric

Yaskawa Electric Corporation (安川电机) is a Japanese industrial automation company headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. Founded in 1915 by Keiichiro Yasukawa as a manufacturer of electric motors and mining equipment, the company grew into one of the world's leading suppliers of motion control technology. Its core product families are servo motors and drives, inverters, industrial robots, and the machine controllers that tie them together. Yaskawa is widely credited with coining and popularizing the term "Mechatronics" to describe the fusion of mechanical and electronic engineering, and it has long positioned itself as a specialist in factory automation rather than a broad diversified conglomerate. Yaskawa's servo and motion control products are used in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, machine tools, packaging machinery, electronics assembly and many other precision applications. Its robotics business, marketed under the Motoman brand, is one of the largest industrial robot operations in the world, supplying welding, handling, assembly and painting robots to automotive and general-industry customers. The company also produces inverters and drives for energy-efficient motor control, and it has expanded into renewable energy and healthcare-related motion applications. Geographically, Yaskawa operates through a network of subsidiaries and sales offices across Japan, the Americas, Europe and Asia, with China being one of its most important markets for both robotics and servo products. The company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of major Japanese equity indices. It competes with firms such as FANUC, ABB, Mitsubishi Electric, Siemens and Rockwell Automation in various segments of industrial automation. Yaskawa's brand identity rests on engineering precision, reliability and long product life cycles. It markets itself as a partner for "co-creation" with customers in manufacturing, and its corporate messaging emphasizes contributing to society through electromechanical technology. The company has manufacturing and R&D sites in Japan and overseas, and it has made acquisitions and investments to strengthen its robotics and motion control portfolio. Its products are typically sold business-to-business, through direct sales engineers and authorized distributors, rather than to consumers.

Yaskawa Electric was founded in 1915 in the Kyushu region of Japan by Keiichiro Yasukawa, initially as a producer of electric motors and equipment for the local coal mining industry. The company's early business was closely tied to the industrial development of northern Kyushu, and it built a reputation for electric motor engineering. Over the following decades it expanded from mining-related machinery into general-purpose electric motors and control equipment. A pivotal development came in the post-war period, when Yaskawa began developing control motors and servo technology. In the 1960s and 1970s the company introduced transistor-based servo drives and numerical control systems, positioning itself at the forefront of factory automation. Yaskawa is often associated with the term "mechatronics," which it helped popularize in the 1970s to describe the integration of mechanical and electronic systems. Yaskawa entered robotics in the late 1970s, developing its first industrial robots and later marketing them under the Motoman brand. The robotics business grew rapidly alongside the global automotive industry, and Yaskawa became one of the world's largest industrial robot manufacturers. In the 1980s and 1990s the company expanded internationally, establishing subsidiaries and manufacturing operations in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company's servo and motion control products became industry standards in semiconductor equipment, machine tools and electronics manufacturing. Yaskawa continued to invest in inverter technology for energy-efficient motor control, and it broadened its portfolio through acquisitions and joint ventures. In the 2000s and 2010s the company strengthened its robotics presence in China, which became a major market, and it invested in new production capacity in Kyushu and overseas. Yaskawa has remained a focused industrial automation company rather than diversifying into unrelated businesses. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and has been a constituent of major Japanese indices. In recent years the company has emphasized co-creation with customers, digital transformation of manufacturing, and applications of its motion technology in healthcare and renewable energy. Its long history and engineering specialization underpin its brand reputation in the global automation market.

• 2000

  Strengthened robotics and servo presence in China as a major growth market.

• 1980

  Expanded internationally with subsidiaries in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

• 1977

  Entered the industrial robotics business, later branding robots as Motoman.

• 1970

  Helped popularize the term "mechatronics" for mechanical-electronic integration.

• 1960

  Introduced transistor-based servo drives and control systems, advancing factory automation.

• 1915

  Founded by Keiichiro Yasukawa in Kyushu, Japan, initially producing electric motors and mining equipment.

Premium engineering-led industrial automation specialist focused on motion control, robotics and energy-efficient drives for factory automation.

• Sigma-series AC servo drives

  Flagship servo drive family used in semiconductor, machine tool and electronics equipment.

• Motoman industrial robots

  Welding, handling, assembly and painting robots for automotive and general industry.

• GA700/V1000 inverters

  Energy-efficient motor drives for industrial applications.

• MP-series machine controllers

  Motion controllers integrating servo and robot control.

• Unconfirmed

  Yaskawa Electric launches MOTOMAN NEXT autonomous robot series and YNX1000 controller at the China International Industry Fair[3]安川电机于工博会发布MOTOMAN NEXT系列自主机器人及YNX1000控制柜eeo.com.cn

  Yaskawa Electric officially launched its new MOTOMAN NEXT series of autonomous robots (models NEX4, NEX7, NEX10, NEX20, NEX35, NHC12) and the new-generation YNX1000 controller at the China International Industry Fair, positioning the lineup as a move from traditional teach-and-playback operation to autonomous operation. The YNX1000 controller integrates an autonomous control unit (ACU) built on NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX with up to 100 INT8 TOPS of AI compute, and the platform was developed with NVIDIA Isaac Sim for digital twin capability.

• 2026-10-13

  Yaskawa Electric launches MOTOMAN NEXT autonomous robot series and YNX1000 control cabinet[4]安川电机发布MOTOMAN NEXT自主机器人系列及YNX1000新一代控制柜163.com

  Reported: 2026-10-13

  On October 13, 2026, during the 2026 China International Industry Fair, Yaskawa Electric officially launched its new autonomous robot series MOTOMAN NEXT and the new-generation YNX1000 control cabinet. The MOTOMAN NEXT series covers payloads from 4kg to 35kg and arm reaches from 550mm to 2060mm with models including NEX4, NEX7, NEX10, NEX20, NEX35 and NHC12. The YNX1000 integrates an autonomous control unit (ACU) with a built-in NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX providing up to 100 INT8 TOPS of AI compute, and Yaskawa also offers an ACU SDK, YNX DevKit and YNX Robot Simulator as part of its open platform.

1. 1Yaskawa Electric official websiteyaskawa.co.jp
2. 2Yaskawa Electric Corporation – Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
3. 3安川电机于工博会发布MOTOMAN NEXT系列自主机器人及YNX1000控制柜eeo.com.cn
4. 4安川电机发布MOTOMAN NEXT自主机器人系列及YNX1000新一代控制柜163.com