Yanmar America Celebrates 100th Global Anniversary

October 14, 2012

Yanmar America built its Adairsville manufacturing facility in 1999, but the company has roots stretching back 100 years and that corporate history was celebrated Friday with a ceremony commemorating the past and planning for the future.

Employees, executives, suppliers, distributors and community partners were on hand for the event held on the factory lawn in front of the nearly 500,000 square-foot plant manufacturing performance diesel engines and diesel-powered equipment.

Yanmar was founded in 1912 in Osaka, Japan, by Magokichi Yamaoka.  Representatives from Yanmar Global were at Friday's event to celebrate the company's milestone with the employees and support team of Yanmar America.

"I believe the reason that the company has run such a long time is that we have been offering value to the customers.  Without the support of the distributors and the suppliers and of course the employees, we cannot offer such value to the customers.  So without the support of all of you, we cannot talk about the history of the company," said Executive Vice President Katsumi Deguchi.  "The world today is more complicated than ever before, by globalization of economies, new competitors from emerging markets -- especially China -- and also very harsh environmental regulations, but it also means there are a lot of chances for us to grow."

In a presentation by Yanmar America President Ted Bregar, a new mission statement was officially unveiled paying tribute to Yanmar's founder.

"Basically the finest people I've ever met, the finest people I've ever had the opportunity to be associated with are within Yanmar and there's a reason for that," Bregar said.  "It has a lot to do with the culture that our founder Magokichi Yamaoka was able to establish."

Relaying the story of Yanmar's creation, Bregar told how Yamaoka witnessed farmers and fishermen toiling in manual labor to make a living.  Through collaboration with the original inventor of the diesel engine, Yamaoka improved upon the existing designs to create a practical and efficient means of harnessing power for industrial and commercial use.

"The original diesel engine, I don't know if you've seen it or pictures of it, but it was one and a half stories tall producing three horsepower.  Through perseverance, what Yamaoka-san did is over the course of about 18 to 24 months, he shrunk it to about the size of two room-sized air conditioning units that produced five horsepower.  That was the beginning of the revolution for aiding the farmers and the fishermen in Japan," Bregar said.  "So as we celebrate the 100-year anniversary, we are rededicating ourselves to the guiding principles of Mr. Yamaoka.  Our new mission statement is eloquent, heart felt and the emboitement of service."

The company's new mission statement is:  "We strive to provide sustainable solutions for needs which are essential to human life.  We focus on the challenges our customers face in food production and harnessing power, thereby enriching people's lives for all our tomorrows."

Presentations from Bregar and a Yanmar executive engineer highlighted many of the company's plans for the future, including new products and innovations.  Incorporating new technology into their engines, Yanmar hopes to use enhanced data tracking measures to improve customer satisfaction and product efficiency.

Article from The Daily Tribune News by Matt Shinall