Yaskawa Electric Corporation

Yaskawa Electric Corporation began in 1915 in Kitakyushu and is one of the oldest manufacturers in the entire overview, older than most European automation brands. Today it is a group listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (code 6506), known for drives, inverters and Motoman industrial robots. That long history has a practical consequence: the company came to cobots not as a newcomer but as a manufacturer that has supplied drives and industrial robots for decades and knows what industry expects. The Motoman HC (Human Collaborative) family combines the classic industrial-arm design with torque sensors that let the robot detect contact with a person and stop. The HC10 went on sale in 2016 and the HC20DT appeared in 2019. The series expanded in two directions: greater reach (the DT versions) and an IP67 build (HC20DTP), intended for environments where the robot is washed down with a water jet, such as the food industry. There is no public information on the exact dates of later launches or on headcount, so we do not give milestones beyond those years. The central theme of this story is simple: an old, serious manufacturer that entered cobots not to shine in demos, but to put them where its classic robots have stood for years.

The HC series consists of four arms, all 6-axis and all on sale. The Yaskawa Motoman HC10 is the starting point: 10 kg payload, 47 kg weight, for assembly and machine tending, on the market since 2016. The Yaskawa Motoman HC10DT has the same payload but a reach of 1,379 mm and repeatability of ±0.1 mm, a good choice for feeding machine tools. The heavier Yaskawa Motoman HC20DT offers a 20 kg payload, 1,700 mm reach and 140 kg weight, since 2019, typically for palletizing. The Yaskawa Motoman HC20DTP variant adds IP67 protection and ±0.05 mm repeatability, aimed at the food industry and precision palletizing. The manufacturer does not publish prices. Anyone comparing cobot series should read “Cobot or Industrial Robot” and “How to Buy a Cobot Step by Step”; the classic comparison with the Danish competitor is “Universal Robots UR5e, UR10e and UR20 Compared”. The overall category is cobots; applications include factories and warehouses. Choosing a model comes down to three questions: how heavy is the part being moved, how far does the workstation reach, and will the robot be sprayed with water. For light machine tending the HC10 is enough, for large pallets check the HC20DT, and for the food industry the HC20DTP.

In the cobot segment the reference point is Universal Robots, the leader by number of installations. Yaskawa does not try to compete with it on ease of programming, but on the industrial backing of the group and on washdown variants, though it has a narrower range of payloads within the HC series itself (10 and 20 kg). Other rivals include FANUC with its CRX series, ABB Robotics with GoFa and Doosan Robotics with a very broad range. The company does not disclose cobot funding separately in the sources; it is one division of a large listed group, so no valuation of the line can be given. We do not name customers because none have been confirmed. Yaskawa's market position is therefore solid, but in the cobot category more of a second line than a leader. For more on the Japanese competitor's series, see “FANUC CRX: The Cobot Series with 8 Years of Zero Maintenance”. Market assessment: a solid player that does not need to prove that an industrial robot can be safe; it only needs to show that it also works alongside people.

Here Yaskawa has one of the best-documented positions. All four models are available in Poland directly through the subsidiary yaskawa.pl, based in Wrocław, with no intermediaries. For a buyer that matters, because it means a single point of contact for price, service and implementation. The manufacturer does not publish prices in Poland: the HC10 is "price on request". We have no confirmed names of Polish end customers or universities using Motoman HC robots. Integrators who build cobot workstations are collected in “Polish Robotics Companies”; ways of financing a purchase, including Poland's robotization tax relief (ulga na robotyzację), are described in “Poland's Robotization Tax Relief”.

The Yaskawa Motoman HC is a solid choice for a plant that wants cobots from a manufacturer with over a century of history and a Polish branch in Wrocław. Strengths: IP67 versions, payloads up to 20 kg, local support. Weaknesses: no public prices and a narrower choice than at the segment leader. Recommendation: include it in requests for quotation for palletizing and machine tending. When comparing with Universal Robots, weigh above all the total cost of deployment, not just the price of the robot.