Fanuc History

In 1956, the first NC in Japanese private sector was developed successfully. Since then, FANUC have continued to develop new technology into their products.
The history of FANUC has been recognized in the history of CNC itself.

1956

The first NC in the Japanese private sector was developed successfully.

1958

The first commercial FANUC NC was shipped to Makino Milling Machine Co., Ltd.

1959

The first continuous path NC in Japan was developed.
The first electro-hydraulic pulse motor was developed.

1960

The first open loop NC, FANUC 220 was developed.

1965

The first NC for linear cutting was developed and made a historic boom in Japan.

1966

The first all-IC type NC was developed.

1968

The first commercial DNC in the world was completed.

1969

The fully modularized NC was developed.

1972

FUJITSU FANUC LTD was founded and became independent from FUJITSU LIMITED.
CNC was introduced.
NC drill was developed.

1974

Industrial robots were developed and installed in our factory.
Dr. S. Inaba, President of FANUC was rewarded with the 6th Annual Memorial Award of "Joseph Marie Jacquard" by the American NC Society.
The production and sale of DC servo motors were started under GETTYS MANUFACTURING CO., INC license.

1975

Wire-cut electric discharge machine was developed.

1976

GENERAL NUMERIC CORPORATION was jointly established in the U.S.A. by FANUC and Siemens A.G.

1977

SME Engineering Citation was awarded to Dr. S. Inaba, President of FANUC.
The government of People's Republic of Bulgaria decorated Dr. S. Inaba with "Madarski Konnik 1st Degree".
FANUC USA CORPORATION was established.
The Automation System Laboratory was opened.

1978

KOREA NUMERIC CORPORATION was jointly established by FANUC and Hwacheon Machinery Works Co., Ltd.
FANUC EUROPE S.A. was established.

1980

FANUC-MACHINEX JOINT OFFICE was established in Bulgaria.
FANUC U.K. LIMITED was established.
FANUC GERMANY GmbH was established.
The Fuji Factory was completed.

1981

FANUC-MACHINEX LTD was established in Bulgaria (formerly FANUC MACHINEX JOINT OFFICE).
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The Emperor Showa awarded "Medal with purple ribbon" to Dr. S. Inaba.

1982

FANUC MECHATRONICS S.A. was established in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
The Technical Training Center was opened.
GMFanuc Robotics Corporation was jointly established in the U.S.A. by FANUC and General Motors.

Chaiman of GM and Dr. S. Inaba

On July 1, the corporate name was changed from FUJITSU FANUC LTD to FANUC LTD.
On September 19, Lady Margaret Thatcher, the then British Prime minister, visited FANUC Fuji Complex.

FANUC AC servo motor was developed.
1983

600 FANUC ROBOTICS LIMITED was jointly established in the U.K. by FANUC and the 600GROUP PLC.
On November 26, His Royal Highness Crown Price Henri of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg visited the FANUC Fuji Complex.

1984

On July 11, His Majesty the Emperor (the then Crown Prince) visited FANUC Fuji Complex.

Upon completion of the new Head Office, the CNC Factory, the Injection Molding Machine Factory and the Basic Research Laboratory at the foot of Mt. Fuji, the Headquarters were transffered from Hino City, Tokyo.
The fully electric plastic injection molding machine "FANUC AUTOSHOT" was developed.

1985

FANUC Series 0 was developed. still is the best selling CNC. the first Series 0 sold from 1985 to 2002 more than 400,000 units sold
Grand Duke de Luxembourg honored Dr. S. Inaba with the Commandeur de l'Ordre Grand-Ducal de la Couronne de Chene.

1986

The Central Technical Center, the Robot Assembly Factory and the Production Technology Laboratory were constructed in the Headquarters area.
The Memorandum of Agreement was signed with General Electric to establish a joint venture company for factory automation.

Chairman of GE and Dr. S. Inaba

On October 13, the Emperor Showa visited FANUC Headquarters.
FANUC TAIWAN LIMITED was established.
GE Fanuc Automation Corporation was jointly estabished in the U.S.A. by FANUC and General Electric. Under the new JV company, three operating companies, i.e. GE Fanuc Automation North America, Inc., in the U.S.A., GE Fanuc Automation Europe S.A. in Luxembourg and Fanuc GE Automation Asia Ltd. in Yamanashi Japan were established. The Asian company was established in 1987.

1987

Dr. S. Inaba was rewarded with "J. F. Engelberger Award for Technical Development" by Robotic Industries Association.
The FANUC Medical Center and the FANUC Collection of Historical Art Materials were established.
Dr. S. Inaba was awarded "the 1987 M. Eugene Merchant Manufacturing Medal" by ASME/SME of the U.S.A.

1988

The Fanuc Product Development Laboratory was constructed in the Headquarters area and transffered from Hino, Tokyo.
On June 23, His Royal Highness Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands visited FANUC Headquarters.

1989

The Tsukuba Factory and the FANUC Culture Center were established.
The Foundation for Promotion of Advanced Automation Technology was established.

Dr. S. Inaba was awarded with "the Grand Officier de l'Ordre de Mérite du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg" by the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

1990

His Majesty the Emperor awarded "Medal with blue ribbon" to Dr. S. Inaba.

1991

A monument was erected in commemoration of the visit of Emperor Showa to FANUC (its saya-do or "building to enclose it" was named Akebono-Kan).

The System Factory and the Hayato Factory were constructed.

1992

Dr. S. Inaba was elected as a foreign associate of the National Academy of Engineering of the United States.
GM Fanuc Robotics Corporation was restructured to FANUC's wholly owned share hoding company, FANUC Robotics Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, FANUC Robotics North America, Inc., and FANUC Robotics GmbH.
BEIJING-FANUC Mechatronics CO., LTD was jointly established by FANUC and the Beijing Machine Tool Research Institute of the Ministry of Machinery Industry of China.
Fanuc India Limited was established as a joint venture with local companies in India.

1993

On April 20, His Royal Highness Crown Prince of Luxembourg visited FANUC.

1994

TATUNG-FANUC ROBOTICS COMPANY was jointly established in Taiwan by FANUC, TATUNG COMPANY and GE Fanuc Automation Corporation.

1995

Fanuc GE Automation Singapore Pte. Ltd. was jointly established in Singapore by FANUC and GE Fanuc Automation Corporation.
Dr. S. Inaba was decorated with "the Second Class of the Order of the Sacred Treasure".

1996

On May 16, the honorable Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, visited FANUC headquarters.

1997

Shanghai-FANUC Robotics CO., LTD. was jointly formed in China by FANUC and Shanghai Mechanical & Electric Industrial Investment Corp.
The new Servo Motor Factory was constructed.

1998

On May 15, His Exellency Mr. Natsagiin Bagabandi, the President of Mongolia, and Mrs. Natsagiin Bagabandi visited FANUC.

1999

On April 8, Their Majesties the Emperor and the Empress of Japan visited FANUC with Their Royal Highness the Grand-Duke and the Grand-Duchess of Luxembourg.

FANUC AC SERVO MOTOR series
Won the 1999 MITI Minister's Award for Outstanding Energy Saving Equipment The FANUC AC SERVO MOTOR series won the 1999 Minister of International Trade and Industry Award for Outstanding Energy Saving Equipment, sponsored by the Association of the Japan Machinery Federation. The annual award, commemorating the 20th year, is given to the companies which succeeded in the development and commercialization of equipment with remarkable energy saving effects, in order to promote the machinery industry's energy saving efforts.

2000

The Sheet Metal Factory and the Nature Hall were completed.
Fanuc India Limited was restructured to FANUC's fully owned company.
On Oct. 15, Prime Minister Chinese Zhu Rongji visits FANUC.

2001

The new Roboshot Factory and the Cooking Center were completed.

2003

FANUC VIETNAM LIMITED was established.
The local corporation was established in Russia. ("FANUC AUTOMATION" LLC)

On May 20, His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince visited FANUC.

2004

FANUC EUROPE SERVICE GmbH was established.
FANUC ROBOMACHINE EUROPE SALES GmbH was established.
FANUC CZECH s.r.o. was established.

2005

Nagoya Sales Branch was established.

GE Fanuc Automation Europe S.A. was restructured and demerged into GE Fanuc Automation CNC Europe S.A. and GE Fanuc Automation Solutions Europe S.A.

FANUC ROBOSHOT GmbH was established.
The Fanuc Servo Motor & Fanuc Spindle Motor Factory was completed.

2006

The new Press & Die Cast Factory was completed.
FANUC HUNGARY SERVICE and FANUC ROBOMACHINE FRANCE were established.
FANUC EUROPE SERVICE GmbH was renamed to FANUC EUROPE GmbH.

2007

FANUC SOUTH AMERICA SERVICE LTD was established.
GE Fanuc Automation Americas, Inc. changed its name to GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms, Inc.
GE Fanuc Automation CNC S.A. changed its name to Fanuc GE CNC Europe S.A.
FANUC FA SERVICE LTD, FANUC ROBOT SERVICE LTD and FANUC LASER SERVICE LTD merged and became FANUC SERVICE LTD.
FANUC POLAND SERVICE LTD was established.
FANUC NORDIC SERVICE AB was established.
The facility of Cut Manufacturing Department of Tsukuba Factory, also known as Akebonosugi (Metasequoia) Factory, and Nagoya Technical Center were completed.

2008

FANUC SWITZERLAND SERVICE GmbH was established.
The Fanuc Rome bath and the CNC Factory were completed

2009

The joint venture with General Electric Company was dissolved
FANUC CNC America Corporation was established
FANUC CNC Europe Corporation was established
FANUC announces the FANUC Series 0i MODEL D

2010

FANUC reaches milestone of manufacturing over 10 million servo motors
FANUC CNC America changes name to FANUC FA America Corporation
One united FANUC was represented at IMTS for the first time
 

2011

Forbes magazine select FANUC Corporation for the top 100 World's Most Innovative Companies list
Thompson Reuters names FANUC Corporation a 2001 Top 100 Global Innovator

2012

The European subsidiaries were reorganized, and FANUC Europe corporation was established.

2014

FANUC rebrands three divisions CNC systems, Robots and Robot Machines into one UK company FANUC UK

2015

FANUC introduces the first industrial collaborative robot in Europe. CR-35i A Robot pushes back the boundaries of robot human interaction

Principal Subsidiaries: Fanuc Robotics North America, Inc. (U.S.); Fanuc U.S.A. Corp.; GE Fanuc Automation Corporation (U.S.); Beijing-Fanuc Mechatronics Co., Ltd. (China); Fanuc GmbH (Germany); Fanuc Germany GmbH; Fanuc France S.A.; Fanuc Iberia, S.A. (Spain); Fanuc Italia S.p.A. (Italy); Fanuc Sweden AB; Fanuc India Limited; Fanuc Korea Corporation; Fanuc-Machinex Ltd. (Bulgaria); Fanuc Oceania Pty. Limited (Australia); Fanuc South Africa (Proprietary) Limited; Fanuc Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd. (Singapore); Fanuc Singapore Pte. Ltd.; Fanuc Hong Kong Limited; Fanuc Thai Limited; Fanuc Taiwan Limited; Fanuc U.K. Limited; P.T. Fanuc Indonesia.

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