Okuma celebrates 125th anniversary

In 2013 Okuma constructed the first Dream Site smart factory in Japan. Okuma

Okuma Corporation, a builder of CNC machine tools, controls, and automation systems, is celebrating its 125-year anniversary in 2023.

The company was founded by Eiichi Okuma in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan, with the initial purposes of manufacturing and selling noodle-making machines. Since that time, the company has grown into a global enterprise company of nearly 4,000 employees and has reached several innovative milestones which have pushed the evolution of the manufacturing industry forward.

The company has hit many milestones:

• 1898 – Founded company and developed a noodle making machine
• 1904 – Began producing and selling machine tools
• 1963 – Developed the company’s first NC (numerical control) controller with absolute position encoder system, becoming Japan’s only comprehensive manufacturer of both machine and control
• 1972 – Developed the world’s first computerized numeric control (CNC) for its machines
• 1984 – Expanded into American markets by establishing an office in the US to serve as a sales and service organization throughout the Americas, which would later be incorporated as Okuma America Corporation
• 2004 – Launched the next-generation, open-architecture THINC control –the first smart CNC
• 2013 – Constructed the first Dream Site smart factory in Japan
• 2023 – Okuma America Corporation launched the Okuma Factory Automation Division for the advancement of automated manufacturing solutions throughout the Americas

The company continues to innovate next-generation CNC machines and manufacturing systems designed to increase customer efficiencies and productivity levels, address evolving workforce challenges, and continue to push the evolution of manufacturing to new possibilities.

"We are honored to be part of a company with more than a century-long track record of innovating solutions for customers within the manufacturing industry," said Jim King, Okuma America Corporation president and COO. "As we continue to innovate new product and service offerings for manufacturers, we look forward to serving the evolving needs of our customers and the industry for today and throughout the next century."