This year Mitsubishi Electric celebrates 40 years in Ireland. Having opened its doors in 1981, the company has continued to grow, adapt and serve the Irish market, leading the way with its core products in heating, cooling and the automation space.
Things have changed hugely as the company enters its fifth decade, says Mitsubishi Electric Ireland general manager Ciaran Moody, who has been with the brand since 1989.
“We started in Ireland with consumer electronic products, however Mitsubishi Electric’s core products were introduced quickly and were well accepted in the Irish market,” he says. From the introduction of large screen TVs, fax machines, and mobile phones, in more recent years the company can boast of huge breakthroughs in technology across robotics, heating and air-conditioning.
Our research and development teams across the globe continue to strive for breakthroughs and new technologies
“We have always had a very Irish flavour to our business here, I fondly remember our work with brand ambassadors over the years including the late Jack Charlton, Ronnie Whelan and Mick McCarthy to name just a few.”
Innovation has always been part of the DNA of Mitsubishi Electric. Globally, the company has continued to bring new technology and new solutions across diverse sectors, for example highly advanced products such as plasma quad technology, which tackles indoor air quality.
“Our research and development teams across the globe continue to strive for breakthroughs and new technologies to enhance our society and to live up to our corporate motto of changes for the better,” Moody says.
Growing stronger
Leading-edge product development also includes the revolutionary HVRF air conditioning solution, which continues to set the bar for the industry, and Mitsubishi Electric has just launched a residential mechanical ventilation solution to the Irish market to complement the roll out of its Ecodan heat pumps to homes across the country.
Some of the advanced technology that the company has recently released includes new range of COBOTs (collaborative robots) which are ‘safe to work closely’ with humans. Its variable speed drives are continually leading the market with their advanced and smart features such as inbuilt PLC (programmable logic controller), condition monitoring and corrosive gas alerts.
Mitsubishi Electric Ireland today has two key areas of focus: The Living Environmental Systems division, which consists of heating, air conditioning and ventilation solutions for domestic, commercial, and industrial buildings.
Factory Automation includes industrial robots used for manufacturing, and a wide range of other automation products and solutions. These include PLCs, HMIs (human-machine interfaces) and LVS (low voltage switchgear) to name a few.
Speaking about the successes that Mitsubishi Electric Ireland has seen over the 40 years and during his own time as general manager, Moody is quick to ensure that the team gets the credit, saying “While we have a fantastic dedicated team, one of the challenges facing us is recruiting and keeping good people.
“That’s something that we do really well. We have a number of people here who have received long service awards with the company, which is a testament to us as an employer. We look after our employees and really cherish them, ensuring a supportive, rewarding and safe working environment.”
Environmental responsibility
Product development is informed by sustainability and the environment. “It is a conscious decision by Mitsubishi Electric to understand what our planet needs and also make sure that the technology we’re involved in, and the products we produce are benefiting the whole global economy in terms of climate change and action across the world – not just in Ireland,” Moody says.
“We’ve put in a lot of time and money to develop products that fit the market, but also to make sure we’re doing that in a green way. We’re always conscious of the environment and our responsibilities to it, which is emphasised by our sustainability programme,” he adds.
We're constantly investing heavily in research and development, it's a big commitment from our headquarters and factories
This is because Mitsubishi Electric lives by a code of seven guiding principles, with environmental being one of the core principles. These princciples also include trust, quality, technology, ethics and compliance, humanity, and society.
Regarding the company’s commitment to environmental measures and its alignment with the Irish government’s climate plans, Moody says, “The climate action plan by the government has to be commended. Our view is that Ireland is taking climate change very seriously, as do we at Mitsubishi Electric.”
Research and development are fundamental, he adds, and will remain so moving forward. “We’re constantly investing heavily in research and development, it’s a big commitment from our headquarters and factories.”
When planning for the future, he explains that the pace of change for technology is increasing so fast it makes predictions almost impossible.
However, Mitsubishi Electric is “building artificial intelligence (AI) technology into practically all of our products”. This, he says, will allow customers to ultimately have a better user experience and for instance, to make decisions around servicing and maintaining those products to extend the life and reduce the total cost of ownership.
Discover more about Mitsubishi Electric at ie.mitsubishielectric.com/en