Yoshiharu Inaba
Fanuc Corporation
Inducted 2021
Yoshiharu Inaba (1948 – ) is the son of FANUC’s founder, Seiuemon Inaba. In the 16 years after succeeding his father as company leader, Inaba honored his father’s legacy by nearly doubling FANUC’s market capitalization. Today, he serves as the company’s chairman.
Inaba’s corporate career began in 1973 after graduating from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and spending ten years with Isuzu Motors, which was then part of GM. He joined FANUC in 1983 and was immediately dispatched to the United States with several fellow engineers to receive training on hydraulic injection molding machines, such as their structure. Eight months after training, he developed AUTOSHOT, the world’s first mass-produced all-electric injection molding machine equipped with FANUC CNC and servo motor technology.
In 1999, he received a doctorate in developing electric injection molding machines from the University of Tokyo. He was also instrumental in developing the ROBOSHOT, the successor to the AUTOSHOT.
Today, nearly 100% of injection molding machines in Japan are all-electric, with the percentage rising in the United States and Europe. Electric injection molding machines are so widespread that they have become mainstream in the injection molding machine market.
Among the many benefits of electric injection molding machines, their low energy consumption—less than a third of hydraulic machines—contributes greatly to realizing carbon neutrality.
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