03/23/2026
Variadores has been completely acquired by Yaskawa America, the wholly owned subsidiary of Yaskawa Electric Corporation.
Founded in 1915, Yaskawa Electric Corporation is a global leader in factory automation solutions, with leadership positions in drives, motion control and robots. Yaskawa also has a significant presence in the photovoltaic (PV) inverter market in North America and Japan.
The entire management and staff of Variadores will remain in place with headquarters in Bogotá, Colombia, and additional locations in Medellín, Cali and Barranquilla. Variadores has partnered with Yaskawa as an independent company since 1991 and has grown to become one of today’s top variable speed drive suppliers in Colombia. Variadores supplies low- and medium-voltage Yaskawa Drives across all the major industrial, municipal and commercial automation segments, capped with a very large presence in the oil and gas market segment.
Variadores, founded in 1987 by three friends, has grown to 148 employees who are the drive experts in Colombia, providing selection, design, application, packaging, solutions, systems, service, monitoring and repairs. This mirrors the expertise and model of Yaskawa America, making this a logical transition from partner in Colombia to Yaskawa in Colombia.
“I have been directly involved with this partnership for the last 25 years of this 35-year partnership. Rarely have we had a partner more lockstep with our customer-centric philosophy of providing the highest-quality solutions backed with the very best automation knowledge and customer service. For many years, it has been like we were already one company, and now we are formalizing that attitude and spirit into a legal business entity with the Yaskawa name,” said Mike Knapek, President and CEO, Yaskawa America.
“Colombia stands out as a dynamic emerging market with strong industrial potential and regional connectivity. Together with Yaskawa, we see the opportunity to further strengthen Colombia’s role as a key platform for growth across Latin America,” said David Giraldo, Managing Director, Variadores.
About Yaskawa America
Yaskawa America’s Drives & Motion Division manufactures industrial automation equipment, including low- and medium-voltage variable speed drives, servo motors and amplifiers, machine controllers, spindle drives and motors and low-voltage industrial switch products. Yaskawa products are used in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, building automation, machine tool, material handling, metal forming, packaging, pumping, water/wastewater treatment, plastics, rubber, solar, irrigation and textile. Yaskawa America employs more than 1,000 people in its headquarters in Waukegan, IL, its manufacturing facilities in Buffalo Grove, IL, and Franklin, WI, and in offices across the United States. For more information, visit https://www.yaskawa.com.
