OREANDA-NEWS. July 07, 2015. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced today that it produced its four-millionth vacuum interrupter in June 2015, 50 years after launching production of these environmentally friendly devices for interrupting and carrying electric current in vacuums that require no insulation gas. The company is now the largest producer in Japan, and seventh worldwide, on an annual basis.

The historic four-millionth vacuum interrupter was produced at Mitsubishi Electric's Power Distribution Systems Center in Marugame-city, Kagawa prefecture, which has been handling production since 1990.

Vacuum interrupters are installed mainly in vacuum circuit breakers and load-break switches as key components for interrupting and carrying electric current. Approximately 80 percent of these products are installed in vacuum circuit breakers produced by Mitsubishi Electric, and the rest are sold as components. The company is now expanding global sales of components by leveraging its half-century of manufacturing experience.

Mitsubishi Electric's Vacuum Interrupter (VI) Production Milestones
1962 Basic research launched at R&D Center
1965 Production of 6.6kV VI begins
1970 Production of 36kV VI begins
1979 Power Distribution Systems Center (former Marugame Works) established
1985 Total production surpasses 500,000
1990 VI plant transferred to Power Distribution Systems Center, total production surpasses 1,000,000
1996 Production of 72/84kV VI begins
1999 Total production surpasses 2,000,000
2008 Total production surpasses 3,000,000
2015 Total production surpasses 4,000,000 in 50th year