For the first time in the 45-year-old history of the Kyoto-based multinational manufacturer of electric motors, Nidec has a new president, as Hiroyuki Yoshimoto becomes the first person to hold the post after the company’s founder Shigenobu Nagamori. The appointment, announced on February 15, was approved on June 20 at the 45^th regular general meeting of shareholders and a subsequent meeting of the board of directors.

Nagamori will remain at the helm of the company, together with the new president and COO Yoshimoto, as chairman and CEO. “I have no intention of resigning yet, but the time has come to share the responsibility of managing a company group that now operates in 43 countries and continues to grow. At first, Yoshimoto will take over about 30% of my responsibilities. 10% of my time will go towards chairing the board of Kyoto Gakuen Educational Foundation that manages Kyoto Gakuen University, where I will develop the next generation of talented engineers, but I will dedicate the remaining 90% to Nidec. As a result the ‘management power’ of the company will actually increase to 120% (90% + 30%),” Nagamori said at a press conference held in Kyoto.

“Yoshimoto is young and ambitious and his management style and methods are similar to my own. Shortly after joining Nidec he managed to turn around Nidec Tosok, a struggling subsidiary, in a single year and significantly boost the growth of Nidec Corporation’s automotive business in under two years.”

Nidec has a history of acquiring and turning around underperforming companies and Yoshimoto outlined his ambition to further boost the growth of the company group by focusing on post-merger integration. “I do not intend to change a winning formula,” he said at the press conference. “On the contrary, I will stay true to Nagamori’s methods and thoroughly infuse the Nidec spirit into the newly acquired businesses through hands-on management.” Yoshimoto also stated his vision for Nidec to become a globally respected company group that each employee can take pride in being a part of.

About Nidec

Nidec was founded by Shigenobu Nagamori in a shed in his backyard in 1973 with only three employees and a vision of making energy efficient brushless DC motors the new global standard. After becoming the first company in the world to successfully commercialize a direct-drive spindle motor for HDDs using brushless DC motor technology in 1979, the company went on to become the world’s number one manufacturer of small precision motors. Nidec later launched into a global effort to diversify and grow its business through a series of nearly 60 mergers and acquisitions.

Currently, the Nidec group, having grown into the world’s number one comprehensive motor manufacturer, employs over 100,000 people in more than 40 countries and manufactures motors and related products for a wide range of applications including IT equipment, home appliances, electric vehicles and other automobiles, robots, drones, industrial facilities and more. In terms of market capitalization, Nidec ranks among the largest companies in Japan with a capitalization that exceeds 5 trillion JPY (46 billion USD¹).

After reaching 1 trillion JPY (8.3 billion USD²) in annual sales in FY2014, the Nidec group announced its targets for 2020 and 2030 as 2 and 10 trillion JPY respectively. The electrification of automobiles, increased use of robots, move toward energy-efficient appliances and manpower-saving in agriculture & logistics are four major trends that drive the increased demand for Nidec’s products.

About Nidec’s presence in the US
Nidec’s footprint in the US dates back to 1976, three years after the foundation of the company group, when Nidec America Corp, a locally-incorporated company, was established in St. Paul, Minnesota. A major development in Nidec’s history in the US came with the 2010 acquisition of the Motors & Controls business of Emerson Electric Co. that led to the establishment of Nidec Motor Corporation (NMC) in St. Louis, Missouri. NMC is a leading manufacturer of commercial, industrial, and appliance motors and controls. The NMC product line features a full line of high efficiency motors, large and small, which serve industrial, residential, and commercial markets in applications ranging from agriculture, water treatment, mining, oil and gas, and power generation to pool and spa motors, air conditioning condensers, rooftop cooling towers, and commercial refrigeration. It also makes motors, controls, and switches for automotive and commercial markets. For more information, visit http://www.nidec-motor.com/