, established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is one of the core companies of

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

. The products from MELCO include

elevator An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...

s and

escalator An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a building or structure. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which cycle on a pair of tracks which keep the step tread horizo ...

s, high-end

home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. Appliances are divided into three ty ...

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

, factory automation systems, train systems,

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

s, semiconductors,

digital signage Digital signage is a segment of electronic signage. Digital displays use technologies such as LCD, LED, projection and e-paper to display digital images, video, web pages, weather data, restaurant menus, or text. They can be found in public ...

, and

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

s. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, products are manufactured and sold by

Mitsubishi Electric United States Mitsubishi Electric United States (officially Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings, Inc.) is the principal subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in the United States. It is headquartered in Cypress, California and was incorporated in 2002 and ...

headquartered in

Cypress, California Cypress is a city in northwestern Orange County within Southern California. Its population was 50,151 at the 2020 census. History The first people living in the area now known as Cypress were the Gabrieleno, a Native American tribe of the Ton ...

History

MELCO was established as a spin-off from the Mitsubishi Group's other core company

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...

, then Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, as the latter divested a marine electric motor factory in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

. It has since diversified to become the major electronics company. MELCO held the record for the fastest elevator in the world, in the 70-story

Yokohama Landmark Tower The is the third tallest building and 5th tallest structure in Japan, standing high. Until surpassed by Abeno Harukas in 2012, it stood as the tallest building in Japan. It is located in the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama city, nex ...

, from 1993 to 2005. The company acquired Nihon Kentetsu, a Japanese home appliance manufacturer, in 2005. In 2015 the company acquired

DeLclima Currently known as Mitsubishi Electric Hydronics & IT Cooling Systems S.p.A., DeLclima is an Italian company designing and producing HVAC and HPAC units through Climaveneta and RC GROUP. DeLclima also operates in the radiator business through ...

, an Italian company that designs and produces HVAC and HPAC units, renamed

Mitsubishi Electric Hydronics & IT Cooling Systems Mitsubishi Electric Hydronics & IT Cooling Systems SpA (MEHITS) is the Mitsubishi Electric Group company specialized in hydronic systems for air conditioning and IT Cooling. Based in Italy the company designs and manufactures in 12 production pla ...

SpA in 2017. In early 2020, MELCO was identified as a victim of the year-long cyberattacks perpetrated by the Chinese hackers.

Products

MELCO is consistently innovative. In 2021, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s annual

World Intellectual Property Indicators World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) is an annual statistical report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The publication provides an overview of the activity in the areas of patents, utility models, trademarks ...

report ranked Mitsubishi Electric's number of patent applications published under the PCT System as 3rd in the world, with 2,661 patent applications being published during 2020. This position is down from their previous ranking as 2nd in 2019 with 2,334 applications. Some product lines of MELCO, such as air conditioners, overlap with the products from

partly because the companies share the same root. * Air conditioning systems ** Room air conditioners (marketed as Mitsubishi Mr. Slim Room Air Conditioner and Mitsubishi Kirigamine) ** Package air conditioners (Marketed as Mitsubishi Mr. Slim Packaged Air Conditioner) ** Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems (marketed as Mitsubishi CITY MULTI) **

EcoCute The EcoCute is an energy-efficient electric heat pump, water heating and supply system that uses heat extracted from the air to heat water for domestic, industrial and commercial use. Instead of the more conventional ammonia or haloalkane gases, ...

(marketed as Ecodan or DIAHOT) ** Ventilators ** Air curtains ** Air conducting fan * Home appliances ** Refrigerators and freezers ** Air purifiers, dehumidifiers ** Vacuum cleaners, electric fans ** Toasters * Building systems ** Elevators, escalators ** Moving walks ** High-speed hand dryers (marketed as Mitsubishi Jet Towel) * Information and communications systems ** Data transmission system solutions *** SCOPO, the world's first transmission at 10 Gbit/s between relay equipment boards set at a distance of apart **

Saffron Type System The Saffron Type System is a system for rendering high-quality scalable type on digital displays. It was developed by Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, and is built on a core of adaptively-sampled distance field (ADF) technology. Saffron ...

, an anti-aliased text-rendering engine, developed by

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings, Inc., which, in its turn, is the principal subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric in the United States. MERL is the North American arm of the Corpora ...

(MERL) ** Optical access systems ** Satellite communications * Factory automation systems ** Programmable controllers ** AC servo systems, inverters ** Industrial and collaborative robots, processing machines * Energy systems ** Power generation systems *** ITER nuclear fusion reactor *** Photovoltaic panels ** Transmission and distribution systems ** Medium & low-voltage switchgear and systems ** Power information & communication technology * Semiconductors and devices ** Power modules, high-power devices ** Driver ICs ** Sensors (

Contact image sensor Contact image sensors (CIS) are image sensors used in flatbed scanners almost in direct contact with the object to be scanned. Charge-coupled device A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coup ...

s, etc) ** High-frequency devices ** optical devices ** TFT-LCD modules * Transportation systems ** Rolling stock systems ** Power supply and electrification systems ** Transportation planning and control systems ** Communication systems * Automotive equipment ** Charging and starting products ** Electrification products (Electric power steering system products, safety and driving assistance system products, etc.) ** Car multimedia products * Visual information systems ** Large-scale LED displays ***

Diamond Vision Diamond Vision (known as ''Aurora Vision'' in Japan) displays are large-scale video walls for indoor and outdoor sports venues and commercial applications, produced by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Diamond Vision Systems is a division of M ...

, large-scale video displays for sports venues and commercial applications ** Multimedia projectors ** Printers * Space systems ** Satellite programs, platforms, and components ** Optical and radio telescopes ** Mobile Mapping System, a high-precision GPS mobile measurement system * Public systems ** Applied superconductor systems ** Doppler lidar, radar systems *** Active electronically scanned array

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

systems for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter **

Uninterruptible power supply An uninterruptible power supply or uninterruptible power source (UPS) is an electrical apparatus that provides emergency power to a load when the input power source or mains power fails. A UPS differs from an auxiliary or emergency power system ...

** Water treatment systems, water pumps

Discontinued products

Mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

s, from 1999 to 2008. Created for NTT Docomo. MELCO quit the mobile phone business in Apr 2008 after decrease in shipments. They estimated a temporary loss of 17 billion Yen in income before income taxes. *

Video Cassette Recorders A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recordin ...

known as the Mitsubishi Black Diamond VCR. *

Televisions Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

** Large-screen HDTVs. Competitors in the U.S market were

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood corporation. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for ...

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

(

Akai Akai ( ja, 赤井, ) is a Hong Kong manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was founded as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946. Grande Holdings in Hong Kong purchased the Akai brand, and now distributes various electronic produ ...

Daewoo Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...

, LG (

Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...

), and

Apex Digital Apex Digital, Inc. is an American electronics manufacturer based in Walnut, California founded in 1997. It manufactures and distributes high definition and LCD panel televisions, DVD recorders and players, and other digital items including photo ...

. ** Direct-view CRT televisions, including the

Diamondtron Trinitron was Sony's brand name for its line of aperture-grille-based CRTs used in television sets and computer monitors. One of the first truly innovative television systems to enter the market since the 1950s, the Trinitron was announced in ...

, until 2001. The last notable size in this field was a 40" (diagonal) tube size. ** LCD TVs, until 2008. ** DLP High Definition TVs, until December, 2012. MELCO then focused on professional and home theater DLP projection applications, and is no longer manufacturing televisions for the consumer market. *

Computer memory In computing, memory is a device or system that is used to store information for immediate use in a computer or related computer hardware and digital electronic devices. The term ''memory'' is often synonymous with the term ''primary storage ...

. Business unit spun off to be part of

Elpida Memory Micron Memory Japan, K.K. is a Japanese subsidiary of Micron Technology. It was formerly known as established in 1999 that developed, designed, manufactured and sold dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) products. It was also a semiconductor fou ...

. * Computers, including MELCOM mainframe computers and MSX home computers. * System LSIs. Business unit spun off to be part of

Renesas Technology is a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, initially incorporated in 2002 as Renesas Technology, the consolidated entity of the semiconductor units of Hitachi and Mitsubishi excluding their dynamic random-access memo ...

. *

Popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

. MELCO previously marketed popular music via

record company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Nippon Crown is a Japanese record label established as Crown Records on 6 September 1963. It is a spin-off of Nippon Columbia and is owned by karaoke maker Daiichikosho. The record label singles which topped the Oricon Singles Chart are Kaze's "22-Sai no ...

, which had been spun off from then-

Nissan Group , or formerly Nissan zaibatsu, was one of Japan's most powerful business groupings. Founded in 1928 by Yoshisuke Aikawa, the group was originally a holding company created as an offshoot of ''Kuhara Mining Co.''(became Nippon Mining & Metals C ...

-owned Nippon Columbia on September 15, 1963. it was sold to

Daiichi Kosho Company is a Japanese electronics and aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Tokyo. As an electronics manufacturer the company specializes in karaoke equipment. History Between about 1992 and 2003 the company branched i ...

in July, 2001. * Particle Beam Treatment System, until 2017. Business sold to

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

Global operations

Mitsubishi Elevator of SOLAE Test Tower 2010-2-27

Mitsubishi Electric US Headquarters Cypress California 2021

MELCO's business network around the world were the following: *Mitsubishi Electric Global **Mitsubishi Electric - North America ***

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

***

**Mitsubishi Electric Asia-Pacific ***

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

***

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

***

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

***

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

***

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

***

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

***Japan ***:There are 11 facilities and 2 laboratories, for example,

Amagasaki 270px, Amagasaki Castle 270px, Aerial view of Amagasaki city center 270px, Amagasaki Station is an industrial city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 455,555 in 223812 households, and a population de ...

and

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

. ***

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

***

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

***

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

***

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

***

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

- Mitsubishi Electric Saudi Ltd. (MELSA) **Mitsubishi Electric Europe ***

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

***

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

***

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

***

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

***

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

***

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

***

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

***

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

***

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

***

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

***

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

***

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Slogans

* * * *Changes for the Better (since 2001)

Sports

Until September 2016, the company had a corporate team which is now known as the

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins The are a professional basketball team that competes in the first division of the Japanese B.League. Prior to their entry into the B.League in September 2016, the club was the corporate team of Mitsubishi Electric. In 2020, the Diamond Dolphins ...

. Mitsubishi continues to sponsor the team. Mitsubishi Electric signed a title sponsorship deal with the

AFF Championship The ASEAN Football Federation Championship (less formally the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reason, is the primary association football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football ...

(renaming the competition as the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup) from the 2022 edition onwards.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Defense companies of Japan Display technology companies Electric transformer manufacturers Electrical equipment manufacturers Electronics companies established in 1921 Electronics companies of Japan Home appliance brands Home appliance manufacturers of Japan Elevator manufacturers Escalator manufacturers Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies Japanese brands Japanese companies established in 1921 Mitsubishi companies Mobile phone manufacturers Robotics companies of Japan Spacecraft manufacturers Manufacturers of industrial automation Electric motor manufacturers Pump manufacturers Engine manufacturers of Japan Industrial robotics companies