Partnership Expands Direct Yaskawa Presence in Colombia and the Entire Andean Region of South America
Yaskawa Electric Corporation and Variadores SAS are very pleased to announce today that Variadores SAS has been completely acquired by Yaskawa America, Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of Yaskawa Electric Corporation.
Founded in 1915, Yaskawa Electric Corporation is a global leader in factory automation solutions, with leadership positions in Drives, Motion Control, and Robots. Yaskawa also has a significant presence in the Photovoltaic (PV) inverter market in North America and Japan.
The entire management and staff of Variadores will remain in place with Headquarters in Bogotá, and additional locations in Medellín, Cali, and Barranquilla. Variadores has partnered with Yaskawa as an independent company since 1991 and has grown to become today’s #1 variable speed drive supplier in Colombia. Variadores supplies low and medium voltage Yaskawa Drives across all the major industrial, municipal, and commercial automation segments, capped with a very large presence in the Oil and Gas market segment.
Variadores, founded in 1987 by three friends, has grown today to 148 employees who are the Drive Experts in Colombia, providing selection, design, application, packaging, solutions, systems, service, monitoring, and repairs. This mirrors the expertise and model of Yaskawa America, making this a logical transition from partner in Colombia to Yaskawa in Colombia.
Yaskawa America President and CEO, Mike Knapek, explains: “I have been directly involved with this partnership for the last 25 years of this 35-year partnership. Rarely have we had a partner that was more lockstep with our customer-centric philosophy of providing the highest quality solutions backed with the very best automation knowledge and customer service. For many years, it has been like we were already one company, and now we are formalizing that attitude and spirit into a legal business entity with the Yaskawa name.”
David Giraldo, Managing Director, Variadores SAS: “Colombia stands out as a dynamic emerging market with strong industrial potential and regional connectivity. Together with Yaskawa, we see the opportunity to further strengthen Colombia’s role as a key platform for growth across Latin America.”
About Yaskawa America, Inc.
Yaskawa America’s Drives & Motion Division manufactures industrial automation equipment, including low and medium-voltage variable speed drives, servo motors and amplifiers, machine controllers, spindle drives and motors, and low-voltage industrial switch products. The company’s Motoman Robotics Division makes industrial robots that can weld, assemble, cut, and handle goods for manufacturers.
Yaskawa products are used in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, building automation, machine tool, material handling, metal forming, packaging, pumping, water/wastewater treatment, plastics, rubber, solar, irrigation, and textile. Yaskawa America, Inc. employs more than 1,000 people in its headquarters in Waukegan, IL, its manufacturing facilities in Buffalo Grove, IL, and Franklin, WI, and in offices across the United States. For more information about Yaskawa, please visit our website at https://www.yaskawa.com.
