Featured Image

Manufacturing Legend Dr. Seiuemon Inaba, 95, Passes Away

Oct 26, 2020

The manufacturing industry lost a giant on Oct. 2, 2020, when Dr. Seiuemon Inaba, founder and honorary chairman of FANUC, died of natural causes. He was 95 years old. Dr. Inaba significantly contributed to the development of the robotics industry in Japan and around the world and helped make FANUC a world leader in industrial automation solutions.

"Dr. Seiuemon Inaba was one of the true visionaries of the modern manufacturing technology industry. He made Fanuc a dominant worldwide player by driving innovation and creativity together with attention to detail, performance, and connection to the customer that many would emulate over the decades," said AMT President Doug Woods. "There is a pretty small number of people you can truly call legends of the manufacturing technology industry over the last 50 years, but clearly, Dr. Inaba is one of them!"

Dr. Inaba founded Fanuc at the beginning of 1972 as a spin-off of his employer at the time, Fujitsu, and made industrial history with many of his developments. He is the pioneer of flexible automation systems, known as numerical control (NC). Early in his career, he developed NC for commercial purposes and invented the electro-hydraulic pulse motor for servomechanisms, which led to the rapid adoption of NC machine tools to reduce total cost in engineering and manufacturing. He is credited with being the first Japanese industrialist to build and operate an automated factory with NC machine tools and robots.

Dr. Inaba is a former president of the Japan Society of Precision Engineering and a recipient of his country's highest honors, including the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon and the Medal of Honor with Blue Ribbon.

Dr. Inaba's influence on the industry lives on.

PicturePicture
Author
Amber Thomas
Vice President, Advocacy
Recent intelligence News
Applying his broad capabilities to drive strategic growth, Mike DiFranco, AMT’s new Vice President of Sales, will connect with—and deliver for—AMT members and the larger manufacturing industry.
AMT committees are made up of members collaborating on initiatives that support the growth and advancement of the manufacturing technology community. This roundup highlights offers a glimpse into each committee, their recent work, and evolving focus areas.
In this installment of our series, you will meet Jason Woodard, Manuel Merkt, and Lt. Gen. William Signius Knudsen, who all started as apprentices. Learn how apprenticeship training influenced their outstanding leadership and shaped their work.
Regional manufacturing events deliver in four locations.
The MFG Meeting 2025 gathered manufacturing leaders, innovators, and policy experts to discuss the forces shaping the future of our industry. Here are nine key takeaways we hope will provide you with the latest business intelligence and insights.
Similar News
undefined
Smartforce
By Catherine “Cat” Ross | Jan 22, 2025

From Vollmer’s centennial celebration to new America Makes project awards and free training from MxD – get the latest on industry milestones, leadership changes, facility expansions, and cutting-edge research in the manufacturing technology community.

5 min
undefined
Smartforce
By Catherine “Cat” Ross | Jul 15, 2024

The manufacturing technology community’s source for updates on major promotions, new appointments, facility inaugurations, and other noteworthy developments among AMT members. Stay informed and join us in recognizing the achievements of your colleagues.

3 min
undefined
Smartforce
By Catherine “Cat” Ross | Nov 18, 2024

ANCA's 2024 Female Machinist Award. PrecisionX acquires Ditron. Students' Manufacturing Day at FANUC. United Grinding: apprenticeship ambassador. New facilities for Edge Technologies, Rego-Fix. America Makes launches AMJobs tool. ARM's robotics hub cohort.

7 min