Mazak Corporation started in Nagoya, Japan in 1919 founded by Sadakichi Yamazaki. The company started as a small company making pots and pans. In the 1920s the company elevated from mat-making machinery to woodworking machinery, then to metalworking machine tools. It was one of the companies that were part of Japan’s industrial build-up before WWII. When World War II happened, the company had experienced a downfall.
But during the 1950s and 1960s under the management of the “Second Generation” (Sadakichi Yamazaki’s sons), it started exporting in the American Market and it expanded throughout the world. Mazak brought revolutionary change and innovation in the North American machine market. Over the years, the company positioned itself as one of the world’s most recognized leaders in the manufacturing industry.
In the years 1975 to 2000, it started its journey as full-scale marketing in Europe. It was founded in Brussels and it had a hard time opening up in the competitive European market. But in 1981, new sales companies were established in Goeppingen, Germany and Worcester, UK. In the same year, they made the slogan “Together Success” embodying the wish that manufacturers, distributors, customers, managers, and employees all work together. The company also developed the world’s First Conventional CNC system for lathes called the Mazatrol T-1. In 1985 the company changed its name from Yamazaki Machinery Works, Ltd. to Yamazaki Mazak Corporation. While in 1988, it first exported the CNC machine tools to Japan. In the same year, Mazak was featured as one of “Britain’s Best Factories”. It also received a Nobel Prize as one of the “Best Companies in the World” and it was in 1991 with Sweden’s Royal Academy in Science (one of the royal academies in Sweden). In the following year, it received another award from the prestigious Queen’s Award for Export Achievement. Throughout the years it expanded more wings since the company’s new sales were founded in Italy and France. This was followed by sales founded in Denmark the following year, then a new Technology Center in Ratingen, North of Germany.
Starting in 2001, Mazak Corporation didn’t stop spreading their wings. Mazak Corporation expanded and established the Yamazaki Mazak Taiwan Corp. Taiwan Technology Center. In the same year, they appointed a new Head for the new era. Teruyuki Yamazaki was appointed Chairman and CEO. In the following years, Mazak Corporation didn’t slow down from expanding in a lot more countries like in Korea (2003), Central Europe in Czech (2004), the same year it introduced MAZACARE support system in the Japanese market. 2008 it completed the underground factory of Yamazaki Mazak Optonics Corporation. It also received the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement (Yamazaki Mazak U.K Ltd.). In 2010 it opened the Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Art. It also opened the Guangzhou Technology Center in China. And in August same year (2010) it opened the Dalian Technology Center in China.
In 2011 of September, the Chairman and CEO Teruyuki Yamazaki passed away. The passing of the former CEO and Chairman didn’t stop them. In 2012, they opened Poland Technology Center and Czech Technology. In the following months of the same year, it opened Technical Centers in Indonesia and Vietnam. 2014 was the year that they celebrated the 40th anniversary of Mazak Corporation production in the U.S.A while also introducing the two Hybrid multi-tasking machines. The following year is a productive year for the corporation. In early 2015, they introduced the MAZAK iSMART Factory concept. It expanded the European Parts Center in Belgium. And together with Cisco, they developed MAZAK SMARTBOX, a “launch platform for easy and highly secure entrance into the Industrial Internet of the Things (IloT). In 2016, it opened the Setouchi Technology, Hungary Technology Center, China Parts Center, and Opened the Aerospace Technology Center. And later that year it announced the Mazak and Cisco collaboration. 2017 is also a busy and productive year for the corporation since early that year it announced the Muratec (AS/RS) and Mazak Collaboration.
In June the same year, the Singapore plant celebrated its 25th anniversary from the start of production. Later in 2017, 2 employees were commended as Contemporary Master Craftsmen by the Japanese Government Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. In 2018, the Inabe plant in Inabe City, Mie prefecture starts operation after completion of the first stage of construction. That year they also developed a 3D direct diode laser processing machine FG-220 DDL. In 2019, almost the end of another decade soaring in the manufacturing industry Tomoshisa Yamazaki was appointed as the new Chairman and CEO of the corporation, and Takeshi Yamazaki was appointed as the new President. Later that year they also opened The Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Machine Tools. They also developed the next generation MAZATROL SmoothAi CNC system with MAZATROL Twin.
If you’re interested in buying a Mazak Machine, please look through our inventory of used Mazak machines or contact us today and we’ll guarantee that we can help you find the right machine that’s perfect for your application.