International. Working since 1924, an ice factory grew into a global group with ten plants worldwide, 100 offices and more than 5,000 direct employees.
The Mayekawa Group was founded in Tokyo by Kisaku Maekawa (without the letter "y"), who opened a small ice factory called Mayekawa & Co. The addition of the "y" has several meanings, one of which is "riverfront", the plant being located, coincidentally, on the banks of the Yamazaki River, in the Japanese capital.
"The centenary logo will be used by all the Group's branches during 2024 and each branch will develop the celebration according to its market. Reaching 100 years required our commitment to society and our customers, which is why this year we will launch new technologies and equipment," announced Latam Marketing Coordinator, Caroline Rosa.
One of the company's first milestones dates back to 1958, when Mayekawa, which was already a manufacturer of cold rooms, became an industrial company, producing its own range of reciprocating compressors. Three years later, the Mycom brand was born, the name given to a line of compressors. To this day, the company is still recognized by this name.
That year, Mayekawa was internationally recognized due to the delivery of 156 refrigeration compressors for a plant in the former USSR. At that time, Mayekawa's annual production was 50 compressors, so in almost a year the company tripled its production.
In 1963, Mayekawa introduced the first liquid ammonia pump recirculation cooling system, installed in Japan for the refrigerated storage of 7,000 tons. The following year, the first subsidiary outside Japan was opened: Mayekawa Mexico.
In 1968, the company arrived in Brazil, where it was established in the center of São Paulo. Today, the Brazilian subsidiary is one of the most important in Latin America. So much so, that in 1971 the first chiller unit in the Brazilian market, with a screw compressor, was imported from Japan.
Then, in 1996, the multinational carried out its first projects in the beverage market, with an indirect NH3 / Solution system, since, until then, only direct ammonia systems existed.
In the decade of Sustainability, which began with Eco 92 in Rio de Janeiro, Mayekawa created the Natural Five system, which uses five natural refrigerants: ammonia, carbon dioxide, water, hydrocarbons and air. They are still used today in heating, drying, hot water supply, air conditioning, refrigeration and freezing systems.
Since then, Mayekawa has evolved to offer technologies to the areas of food, beverage, healthcare, petrochemicals, and fisheries, among others.
Global projection
In Brazil, Mayekawa's chemical segment sold its first project, an URV, to the Pampo oil platform, which until then was managed by Petrobras.
In 2023, Mayekawa Europe supplied the hot water system through its heat pump solution to around 8,000 households in Svendborg, Denmark.
The relationship between Mayekawa and the fishing vessel Dutch Harbor, anchored in Alaska, has lasted more than 30 years. During these, Mayekawa USA has serviced all five of its N62B compressors.
The Newton line was chosen by the company ADIB Food to establish and expand its cold chain and ensure the supply of food to 240 million people in Indonesia.
The Mayekawa Group has developed indirect refrigeration systems using Brine CO2. In this case, the ammonia charge is reduced by using CO2 as a secondary refrigerant (Brine), optimizing energy efficiency and reducing the level of toxicity, which increases the operational safety of the refrigeration system.
In addition to Brazil, the multinational has applied this concept in two projects in Ecuador and one in Argentina. In Asia, the Mayekawa Group is also present in more than 500 industrial refrigeration facilities using Brine CO2.
In 2004, Mayekawa Brazil made its first sale of chillers to Sorocaba Refrescos, a bottler of one of the world's leading beverage brands.
Since 2006, Mayekawa has been collaborating with one of the largest food and beverage companies in Switzerland, supplying cooling solutions and heating systems to its plants in Brazil.
In Latin America, Mayekawa is present in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Venezuela.
