The Mitsubishi Electric Group is driving a major transformation to achieve further business development and make greater contributions to society and the environment. The Group is actively shifting from an "Operational Company," which channels management resources into expanding existing businesses, to an "Innovative Company" that continuously creates new value without fearing risk. We spoke with Machiko Kawano and Li Ting Ting, who oversaw the exhibitions introducing this transformation, about the positive response they received from global audiences and the brand communication approach they employed to effectively convey the Group’s commitment.

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In May 2025, the Mitsubishi Electric Group announced a bold commitment to transform into an Innovative Company that continuously creates value through fresh ideas. It is now actively accelerating this transformation centered on three core initiatives: "Business Model Transformation" powered by the Serendie^® digital platform; "Strengthening the Digital Platform" to promote reforms in organizational structures and business processes and drive global collaboration toward the active use of IT, DX, and AI; and "Mindset Transformation" aimed at expanding DX talent and fostering a new corporate culture.

In autumn 2025, the Group showcased its transformation initiatives at two exhibitions held in Japan and China. The first was CEATEC 2025, Japan’s leading digital innovation exhibition held from October 14 to 17. Centered on "well-being," one of the five priority social issues of the Mitsubishi Electric Group, the exhibit highlighted the theme "Be Yourself at Work — Innovation through Serendie —." It presented solutions and cutting-edge technologies designed to create workplace environments where everyone can work with energy, confidence, and vitality, whether in an office, factory, or other setting.

Kawano explains the intention behind the Group’s exhibit:

"The Mitsubishi Electric Group offers a wide range of advanced solutions, but because many of our businesses is BtoB, it can be challenging for general consumers to fully appreciate the value we deliver or the cutting-edge nature of our technologies. However, since CEATEC brings together not only industry professionals but also general consumers and students, it was the perfect opportunity to design an exhibit that would allow people to experience our technologies intuitively.

For example, in the office area, we presented a demonstration of a ‘workspace that understands you.’ Using our original sensor, we measured participants’ pulsed data to estimate their level of concentration, and AI then controlled various devices to create an optimal environment tailored to each individual. For example, for highly concentrated participants, a robot brought them a cup of coffee; for those who appeared fatigued, the lighting shifted to relaxing tones or the air conditioner sent a gentle breeze to help re-energize them. Through such demonstrations of solutions designed to elevate each person’s performance, we believe participants were not only able to enjoy the demonstration but also to clearly understand the value and advanced capabilities of our solutions." (Kawano)

"The factory area was themed on ‘self-evolving future factories powered by AI.’ Here, we showcased a demonstration of a bicycle-painting robot. Participants experienced how the robot used cloud AI and edge AI to autonomously respond to issues that arose during the painting process, as well as how it refined its movements based on autonomous simulations in a digital environment. This initiative is a powerful example of co-creation, combining the strengths of AWS (Amazon Web Services), known for its robust cloud services, with the Mitsubishi Electric Group’s expertise in the components field. Collaborations with partners like this project also play a vital role in our transformation into an Innovative Company, and the demonstration showed new value that we provide through co-creation." (Kawano)

About three weeks after CEATEC, the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE), a major national trade fair organized by the Chinese government, was held from November 5 to 10 in China. With its focus on "imports," most of the exhibitors are foreign companies. For the Mitsubishi Electric Group, it was "an important opportunity to spotlight our advanced solutions, technological innovations, and future-oriented direction," says Li.

"The CIIE tends to attract visitors with deep expertise, such as representatives from government and state-owned companies, buyers, media professionals, and others. While the ‘Mitsubishi Electric’ name is well recognized in China, the specifics of our businesses are still not widely understood. Therefore, as a globally recognized event held in China, the CIIE served as a highly effective venue for communicating the Mitsubishi Electric Group’s transformation into an Innovative Company within the Chinese market.

To give visitors first-hand experience of our transformation initiatives, we presented a production-site solution co-created with the local AI and robotics company Lumos Robotics. The demonstration of a factory visual inspection line drew particularly strong interest." (Li)

"In manufacturing sites such as factories, the inspection of external appearance is essential to ensuring and maintaining product quality. The appearance-inspection line we showcased featured our robotic arm responsible for production and transport, paired with a Lumos Robotics unit that conducted the final visual inspection. This robot uses what is known as ‘embodied AI’ to interact with the real world through a physical body. As a result, it can do far more than repeat preset movements; it can recognize its surroundings and adjust its actions to suit the situation. The demonstration attracted significant attention, especially as the Chinese government is placing strong emphasis on the AI and humanoid-robot industries. In a country where development in these fields is progressing at remarkable speed, I believe this exhibit effectively showcased our commitment to driving innovation through co-creation with local partners." (Li)

As a direct point of contact with visitors, the exhibition generated a level of response that simply cannot be achieved online.

"CEATEC offers a valuable opportunity for visitors to intuitively experience and understand our advanced technologies, solutions, and co-creation with partners—things they rarely encounter in their daily lives—through live demonstrations and personal explanations from our staff. Some visitors even left our booth saying, ‘the Mitsubishi Electric Group does impressive work!’ The visitor survey also included many positive comments about our advanced initiatives, so I believe we were able to clearly convey the Mitsubishi Electric Group’s commitment to transforming into an Innovative Company. For us as well, it was an invaluable opportunity to see visitors’ genuine reactions firsthand." (Kawano)

"In addition to several media outlets featuring our exhibits at the CIIE, some visitors shared feedback that they hadn’t realized the Mitsubishi Electric Group provides such high-quality products. China is currently experiencing a replacement trend, and a number of visitors mentioned they would like their next purchase to be a Mitsubishi Electric Group product, giving us a strong sense of their expectations. In addition, our demonstration featuring a humanoid robot used in the factory appearance-inspection line we co-created with our partner company was widely shared on social media, further contributing to the high level of attention the Mitsubishi Electric Group booth received." (Li)

Kawano and Li both expressed their desire to continue sharing the Mitsubishi Electric Group’s initiatives through a variety of opportunities. They also emphasized the importance of strengthening communication not only with external stakeholders but with internal employees as well.

"We only recently announced our transformation into an Innovative Company in May 2025, and are presently at the stage of deepening understanding and embedding this commitment both externally and internally, including our Group companies and colleagues worldwide. Comprehensive exhibitions like CEATEC, where employees from many different departments come together with a shared purpose, also serve as an extremely effective means of internal communication. Together with other communication initiatives, we hope to continue widely conveying the Mitsubishi Electric Group’s efforts toward this transformation within and outside the Group," Kawano says.

"The term ‘innovative’ has also become a major trend in China. That is why I believe, in our brand communication, it is important to clearly articulate how the Mitsubishi Electric Group defines an Innovative Company and what unique qualities set us apart from other companies. I wish to deepen my own understanding as well, so I can communicate this vision effectively on a global scale," Li says with enthusiasm.

The Mitsubishi Electric Group is accelerating its transformation into an Innovative Company. Stay tuned for the progress of our global pursuit.

Written by Our Stories Editing Team