Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Electric
is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was established in 1921 as a spin-off from the electrical machinery manufacturing business of Mitsubishi Shipbuilding (current Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) at the Kobe Shipyard. The products from MELCO include elevators and escalators, high-end home appliances, air conditioning, factory automation systems, train systems, electric motors, pumps, semiconductors, digital signage, and satellites.
History
MELCO was established as a spin-off from the Mitsubishi Group's other core company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, then Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, as the latter divested a marine electric motor factory in Kobe, Nagasaki. It has since diversified to become the major electronics company.
MELCO held the record for the fastest elevator in the world, in the 70-story Yokohama Landmark Tower, from 1993 to 2005.
The company acquired Nihon Kentetsu, a Japanese home appliance manufacturer, in 2005.
In 2015 the company acquired DeLclima, an Italian company that designs and produces HVAC and HPAC units, renamed Mitsubishi Electric Hydronics & IT Cooling Systems SpA in 2017.
In early 2020, MELCO was identified as a victim of the year-long cyberattacks perpetrated by the Chinese hackers.
In 2023, MELCO announced its plans to spend 100 billion yen to build a new semiconductor factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, with a target date of April 2026 to begin production.
Products
In 2021, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s annual World Intellectual Property Indicators report ranked Mitsubishi Electric's number of patent applications published under the PCT System as 3rd in the world, with 2,661 patent applications being published during 2020. This position is down from their previous ranking as 2nd in 2019 with 2,334 applications.
Some product lines of MELCO, such as air conditioners, overlap with the products from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries partly because the companies share the same root.
Air conditioning systems
Room air conditioners (marketed as Mitsubishi Mr. Slim Room Air Conditioner and Mitsubishi Kirigamine)
Package air conditioners (Marketed as Mitsubishi Mr. Slim Packaged Air Conditioner)
Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems (marketed as Mitsubishi CITY MULTI)
EcoCute (marketed as Ecodan or DIAHOT)
Ventilators
Air curtains
Air conducting fan
Home appliances
Refrigerators and freezers
Air purifiers, dehumidifiers
Vacuum cleaners, electric fans
Toasters
Building systems
Elevators, escalators
Moving walks
High-speed hand dryers (marketed as Mitsubishi Jet Towel)
Information and communications systems
Data transmission system solutions
SCOPO, the world's first transmission at 10 Gbit/s between relay equipment boards set at a distance of apart
Saffron Type System, an anti-aliased text-rendering engine, developed by Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL)
Optical access systems
Satellite communications
Factory automation systems
Programmable controllers
AC servo systems, inverters
Industrial and collaborative robots, processing machines
Energy systems
Power generation systems
ITER nuclear fusion reactor
Photovoltaic panels
Transmission and distribution systems
Medium & low-voltage switchgear and systems
Power information & communication technology
Semiconductors and devices
Power modules, high-power devices
Driver ICs
Sensors (Contact image sensors, etc)
High-frequency devices
optical devices
TFT-LCD modules
Transportation systems
Rolling stock systems
Power supply and electrification systems
Transportation planning and control systems
Communication systems
Automotive equipment
Charging and starting products
Electrification products (Electric power steering system products, safety and driving assistance system products, etc.)
Car multimedia products
Visual information systems
Large-scale LED displays
Diamond Vision, large-scale video displays for sports venues and commercial applications
Multimedia projectors
Printers
Space systems
Satellite programs, platforms, and components
Optical and radio telescopes
Mobile Mapping System, a high-precision GPS mobile measurement system
Public systems
Applied superconductor systems
Doppler lidar, radar systems
Active electronically scanned array radar systems for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter
Uninterruptible power supply
Water treatment systems, water pumps
Discontinued products
Mobile phones, from 1999 to 2008. Created for NTT Docomo. MELCO quit the mobile phone business in Apr 2008 after decrease in shipments. They estimated a temporary loss of 17 billion Yen in income before income taxes.
Video Cassette Recorders known as the Mitsubishi Black Diamond VCR.
Televisions
Large-screen HDTVs. Competitors in the U.S market were Sony, Pioneer, Panasonic, JVC, Samsung (Akai), Daewoo, LG (Zenith), and Apex Digital.
Direct-view CRT televisions, including the Diamondtron, until 2001. The last notable size in this field was a 40" (diagonal) tube size.
LCD TVs, until 2008.
DLP High Definition TVs, until December, 2012. MELCO then focused on professional and home theater DLP projection applications, and is no longer manufacturing televisions for the consumer market.
Computer memory. Business unit spun off to be part of Elpida Memory.
Computers, including MELCOM mainframe computers and MSX home computers.
System LSIs. Business unit spun off to be part of Renesas Technology.
Popular music. MELCO previously marketed popular music via record company Nippon Crown, which had been spun off from then-Nissan Group-owned Nippon Columbia on September 15, 1963. it was sold to Daiichi Kosho Company in July, 2001.
Particle Beam Treatment System, until 2017. Business sold to Hitachi.
Global operations
MELCO's business network around the world were the following:
Mitsubishi Electric Global
Mitsubishi Electric - North America
Canada
United States - Mitsubishi Electric United States
Mitsubishi Electric Asia-Pacific
Australia / New Zealand
China
Hong Kong
India
Taiwan
Vietnam
Japan
There are 11 facilities and 2 laboratories, for example, Kobe, Amagasaki and Kamakura.
Malaysia
Singapore
Thailand
Philippines
Saudi Arabia - Mitsubishi Electric Saudi Ltd. (MELSA)
Mitsubishi Electric Europe
Benelux
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Portugal
Russia
Spain
Sweden / Denmark
Finland / Norway
United Kingdom
Turkey
Slogans
Changes for the Better (since 2001)
Sports
Until September 2016, the company had a corporate team which is now known as the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins. Mitsubishi continues to sponsor the team.
Mitsubishi Electric signed a title sponsorship deal with the AFF Championship (renaming the competition as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup) from the 2022 edition onwards.
See also
List of elevator manufacturers
References
External links
Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange
Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Defense companies of Japan
Display technology companies
Electric transformer manufacturers
Electrical equipment manufacturers
Electronics companies established in 1921
Electronics companies of Japan
Home appliance brands
Home appliance manufacturers of Japan
Elevator manufacturers
Escalator manufacturers
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies
Japanese brands
Japanese companies established in 1921
Mitsubishi companies
Mobile phone manufacturers
Robotics companies of Japan
Spacecraft manufacturers
Manufacturers of industrial automation
Electric motor manufacturers
Pump manufacturers
Engine manufacturers of Japan
Industrial robotics companies