Mitsubishi Electric US Inc. in Cypress is planning to go all out at the CES technology mega show next month in Las Vegas.
“It’s the first time that Mitsubishi Electric is participating at a level that will show the full breadth of our products,” said Chief Executive and President Mike Corbo. “We’re going to open it up to the family of companies based in the U.S.”
All of Mitsubishi Electric’s business units will be attending CES.
The goal is to show “integrated solutions and how we’re contributing to the overarching theme of smart society” and sustainability, said Corbo, who has been with the company for 35 years, and was appointed to his current positions effective May 1.
Mitsubishi Electric US manufactures cooling and heating products, elevators and escalators, space and sensing systems, and semiconductor devices among other products.
Mitsubishi Electric US is an “affiliate company” of Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
The U.S. company was founded in 1973.
4 Pillars
Corbo said on Nov. 19 the 2022 exhibit will feature the company’s “four pillars” including:
• Life with elevators and escalators, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems), as well as “health cam” technology;
• Infrastructure with a monitoring of utilities in the power grid, using robotics and advanced software;
• Industry segment highlighting a robot that will automatically replace tires; and
• Mobility with electric vehicle technology, as well as mobility through robots.
Touchless Elevators
The CES show runs from Jan. 5 to Jan. 8 and typically attracts more than 180,000 visitors each year.
The company is expecting about 50 to 60 people to be on hand to show off the various Mitsubishi Electric business units in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Mitsubishi Electric has already received a CES Innovation Awards honoree title for a key development born out of COVID-19 health precautions: the PureRide Touchless Control for elevators.
The no-touch product enables users to call an elevator and designate a destination floor by placing a hand or finger over a sensor.
Corbo said PureRide, developed by the Elevators and Escalators Division, will “change the way we interact with and move within offices, residences, hotels, malls and other multistory facilities.”
“We’ve had success here in California. We’ve had success in Hawaii,” Corbo said of PureRide. “We’re hoping for a big push coming out of CES.”
Growth Continues
Corbo remains bullish for Mitsubishi Electric products lineup and said business overall “has been very positive.”
“In the year of the pandemic, in the heart of it in 2020, we were able to see just shy of 5% growth across Mitsubishi Electric,” he said. “This year is exceeding those levels of last year.”
He added: “Some of the stronger businesses are much stronger. And some of those areas that are down are able to level out.”
Corbo has seen a push for its HVAC products, noting for example that people have been investing in their homes.
“We’ve seen a big uptick in that business,” he said of HVAC.
“There was a pause through COVID in terms of commercial development, but we are seeing that open up again,” he said. “Our bookings in the past three months have been very strong.”
“The indications are that the office buildings are starting to develop again, certainly high-rise residential is happening.”
He said the company faces challenges in the automotive group due to the global chip shortage and supply chain disruption.
That segment of the business “had to deal early on in the pandemic with some factory shutdowns,” he said.Â
