FLORENCE, Ky. – Manufacturing technology company Yamazaki Mazak Corporation has announced that President Tomohisa Yamazaki will become the company’s chairman while Vice President Takashi Yamazaki has been named the new president. The transition, which will take effect June 24 and coincides with the company’s 100th anniversary, is the result of a long-planned leadership evolution designed to position the company for continued growth while cementing its ability to provide support to manufacturers around the world.
During a June 4 press conference in Nagoya, Japan, Takashi Yamazaki described the approach he would bring as president: “Many evaluate the company’s virtue with the revenue figure, but I won’t be just pursuing that. With 100 years of company history, we would like to continue providing customers in the world greater technologies and better products.”
Tomohisa Yamazaki’s appointment as chairman is the culmination of his dynamic career as a longtime leader of one of the world’s largest machine tool companies. In addition to continuing to act as the vice chairman of the Japanese Machine Tool Builders’ Association (JMTBA), he said, “I will stay involved in making decisions regarding medium and long-term plans and support the new leadership from a broader perspective.”
“On behalf of the entire team in North America, I would like to offer our thanks to Tomohisa Yamazaki, who will continue to lead the company to further success in his new role, and our warmest congratulations to Takashi Yamazaki,” said Dan Janka, president of the Florence, Kentucky-based Mazak Corporation. “The enduring stability of the Yamazaki family’s stewardship of the company and the seamless leadership transitions taking place on both sides of the Pacific serve to demonstrate Mazak’s Rock Solid approach to serving customers and advancing technology.”
Prior to joining Yamazaki Mazak Corporation in 1990, Takashi Yamazaki earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Xavier University. After garnering experience in numerous departments across the company, he became a managing director in 1999 and a vice president in 2013. In his remarks to reporters, he discussed the company’s role in an increasingly globalized manufacturing market and his plan for promoting new technologies and products to further strengthen the company’s legacy of Together Success.