100 years! This is exactly what someone who has a birthday wishes for. In the case of Mitsubishi Electric, however, such a statement would not be relevant, because the Japanese giant has already entered the second century of its existence.
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The aforementioned group was founded in 1921 and is now celebrating its centenary. Despite its old age, Mitsubishi Electric is still doing well and making plans for the next century, which will be marked by great challenges, changes and the need to constantly adapt to new realities.
It started more than a year ago
However, before the group saw the light of day, Yataro Iwasaki laid the cornerstone of the Mitsubishi brand much earlier. It was in 1870, when Japan was just emerging from its feudal isolation and embarking on a pursuit of the Western world. The young visionary then saw an opportunity in production and trade, developing his company in a short time. Its end, as an integrated organization, was brought about by the outbreak of the World War, but it was also an event that allowed for the emergence and strengthening of other independent companies, which, however, traced back to the old Mitsubishi.
One of them was Mitsubishi Electric, which from 1921 and its first product, which was a commercial universal fan, contributed to the rapid and extremely dynamic growth of Japan - technological, economic and, of course, financial. This development very quickly allowed the group to influence the wide waters and ensured its strong position in the international market.
The production of 10,000 of these fans, however, was only the beginning of the company's journey, with an initial share capital of 15 million yen. The license agreement with Westinghouse Electric International was signed very quickly, as well as the production of a vertical axis hydraulic generator (23,000 kVA), as well as the completion of the first Odawara Kyuoko railway substation in Japan. Later it went downhill.
Key dates
A timeline of Mitsubishi Electric's initial achievements:
1933 - The first safety switches are introduced to the market, as well as the first Japanese-made fuses (15-35 amps).
1935 - Delivery of the first Mitsubishi escalator and first elevator.
1937 - Entry into the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
1940 - Start of production of radio and loudspeakers.
1951 - Production of the first V-type oil circuit breakers in Japan for use in ultra-high voltage lines (287.5 kV / 5000 MVA).
1952 - Semiconductor research begins.
1953 - The first Japanese DD50 diesel-electric locomotive is completed and the first Mitsubishi Electric TV is launched.
1958 - Completion of the 105,000 kVA Francis hydraulic turbine generator for J-Power with the highest production capacity in Japan.
1960 - Mitsubishi Electric's first computer entry, MELCOM 1101.
1961 - Production of the first Japanese integrated circuit IC: Molectron, as well as a color television.
1962 - Delivery of Japan's first subway train with an Automatic Train Service (ATO) system, as well as a 1650 kVA main transformer and a 185 kVA electric motor for use on the Shinkansen high-speed rail.
1965 - Manufacturing of the commercial CVCF inverter and development of the VVVF inverter technology.
1969 - Production of the first split-system room air conditioner, complete construction of the first Mitsubishi nuclear power generator (400,000 kVA) and development of the world's first permanent fuse.
1970 - Completion of a 560,000 kVA turbogenerator for Kansai Electric Power.
1976 - Production of Japan's largest nuclear power generator (1,300,000 kVA) and fully gas-insulated substation.
The engine of progress
As can be seen from the examples above, each step in the field of electricity, progress and fueling the Japanese economy, was made by the specialists of Mitsubishi Electric. It was thanks to their discoveries that the domestic industry was accelerating from year to year, but that's not all. The progress that was being made thanks to the Tokyo company was much more extensive and went far beyond the borders of the Japanese islands. All of this was also widely echoed on other continents and fueled the operation of other companies operating in this industry.
Mitsubishi Electric's 100th birthday came in a difficult time. The world has been struggling with the coronavirus pandemic for nearly two years, which has hit businesses hard all over the world, and the Japanese giant was no exception. The report, released at the end of July, shows that the company managed to recoup some of its losses and compared to the previous year (we count the first quarter), its revenue increased to the value of 1,066.4 billion yen (up by more than 24 percent) from the corresponding period of twelve months ago .
The news covered another incident that was not very positive for the company and its investors. It is, of course, about the high-profile scandal related to many years of falsification of documentation relating to the control of air conditioners and brake compressors in railway carriages. Effect? Feeling responsible for the company's fate, its president, Takeshi Sugiyama, resigned.
Before his resignation was officially approved, however, the former Mitsubishi Electric CEO sent a special message to the company's employees, shareholders and all related to the industry on the occasion of the hundredth birthday. - The Mitsubishi Electric Group was founded in 1921, so in times of uncertain and hopeless. Despite this, the company managed to draw up a detailed development plan for the next hundred years - he stated in a special letter.
True to values
- Since then, we had to face many challenges. However, our commitment to improving people's lifestyles has remained the same for a hundred years. The Mitsubishi Electric Group is constantly evolving, contributing to the vision of a dynamic and sustainable society. Now that the world is undergoing more and more drastic changes, we once again need to join forces and draw up a plan for the next hundred years - he added.
At the company's headquarters in Tokyo, they do not think to rest on their laurels and are ready for the next challenges that are only to strengthen Mitsubishi Electric's position on the world stage. - By working to solve the many complex problems faced by communities around the world, we implement the concept of a sustainable welfare society to which every citizen contributes. The challenge for the next hundred years is to pursue this goal in our operations by combining all available internal and external resources and constantly innovating technological innovations thanks to endless layers of creativity - concluded Sugiyama.
Such a round birthday of the Japanese company is a special moment for the entire industry. After all, we are talking about one of its most important players, which offers a whole range of solutions for the space, energy and home sectors, but from our point of view, the key ones are those that are used in the field of industrial automation. Of course, we are talking about various types of inverters, robots, controllers, servo systems and control panels. It just so happens that practically all these components can be found in Automation Trader, for which Mitsubishi is one of the main partners.
Isn't it all impressive? And all of this in just a hundred years.
