The leadership team of Okuma Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina, a builder of computer number control (CNC) machine tools, controls and automation systems, is honored to announce the company’s 125-year anniversary in 2023.

The company was founded by Eiichi Okuma in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan, with the initial purpose 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.

Notable milestones include:

• 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 numerical 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 solutions throughout the Americas

Okuma 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.

Okuma America Corporation President and COO Jim King reflected on the company’s milestone anniversary, “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. 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.”

For more information, visit www.okuma.com/history.