Founded by Eiichi Okuma in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan, with the initial purposes of manufacturing and selling noodle-making machines, Okuma has grown into a global enterprise of nearly 4,000 employees and has reached several innovative milestones that 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 numerical control (NC) controller with absolute position encoder system, becoming a comprehensive manufacturer of both machine and control
• 1972—developed its first computerized numeric control (CNC) for its machines
• 1984—expanded into American markets by establishing an office in the United States to serve as a sales and service organization, which would later be incorporated as Okuma America
• 2004—launched the next-generation, open-architecture ThINC (the intelligent numerical control), a smart CNC
• 2013—constructed the Dream Site smart factory in Japan
• 2023—Okuma America launched the Okuma Factory Automation Division for the advancement of automated manufacturing solutions throughout the Americas.
As a global manufacturing enterprise, Okuma strives 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 Okuma America President and COO Jim King, reflecting on the company’s milestone anniversary. “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.”
