Nidec

Nidec contact details

Head office

338 Kuzetonoshiro-cho, Minami-ku
Kyoto 601-8205
Japan

Website nidec.com/en

Nidec Control Techniques Ltd (UK drives business)

The Gro
Newtown, Powys SY16 3BE
United Kingdom

Email controltechniques@mail.nidec.com

Web moen.nidec.com/en/drives/Contact-Information

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Contact details as published by NIDEC CORPORATION, checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with NIDEC CORPORATION.

Nidec product lines

Who Nidec is

Nidec is a Kyoto-based motor manufacturer that describes itself as the world’s largest comprehensive motor maker, with around 300 group companies. Its products span tiny precision motors for electronics through to large industrial motors, automotive systems, home appliance motors, machine tools and power transmission equipment.

For motion control engineers, Nidec matters in two places. The first is precision gearing for servo axes and robots, made by NIDEC DRIVE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, which Nidec’s reducer pages name as the manufacturer. The second is servo drives and motors, which Nidec sells under the Control Techniques brand, covered in its own profile on our site. This page focuses on the gearing side and on Nidec as the owning group.

History and ownership

Shigenobu Nagamori founded Nippon Densan Corporation in Kyoto in 1973 with 20 million yen of capital, starting production of small precision AC motors that August. The company’s official establishment date is 23 July 1973. It listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1998 and is now on the Prime Market under code 6594. Capital stood at 87,784 million yen and consolidated headcount at 104,285 on 31 March 2025.

Growth has come largely through acquisition. Relevant milestones for motion include a stake in Japan Servo in 2007; the 2017 purchase of Emerson’s motors, drives and power generation businesses, which created Nidec Control Techniques and Nidec Leroy-Somer; Nidec-Shimpo’s acquisition of German reducer maker MS-Graessner in 2018; and the 2019 acquisitions of DESCH Antriebstechnik and Systeme + Steuerungen. In 2021 Nidec bought Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool, and in April 2023 it changed its Japanese corporate name to Nidec Kabushiki Gaisha.

Precision reducers for motion axes

FLEXWAVE strain wave gearing

FLEXWAVE is Nidec Drive Technology’s strain wave range. It comes in a flat “D” type and a high-torque “B2” type, each as a component sub-assembly (WPC), a simple contained assembly (WPS) or a complete unit (WPU) with hollow or input shaft. Sizes run from 35 to 100, ratios from 50 to 160, and allowable torque reaches 382 Nm on the largest high-torque units. Smart-FLEXWAVE adds built-in torque, temperature and position sensing, which is useful for collaborative robot joints. Our guide to harmonic vs planetary vs cycloidal gearing explains where strain wave gears suit best.

ABLE coaxial servo planetary reducers

The ABLE family is Nidec’s servo planetary range. The ABLE VRB (square flange, sizes 042 to 220) and ABLE VRL (round flange, sizes 050 to 235) both cover ratios of 3 to 100 and allowable torque up to 1,500 Nm. The ABLE VRS extends to 2,400 Nm in sizes up to 240, and the flange-output ABLE VRT reaches 3,300 Nm in nine sizes up to 285. Ultra-high-precision versions of the VRS, VRB and VRT are listed for ratios of 4 to 10. Nidec publishes allowable torque on its overview pages; backlash and rated torque are in the series catalogues.

Right-angle and large reducers

For right-angle axes, the ABLE EVS covers ratios of 3 to 100 and allowable torque from 12 to 1,920 Nm in seven sizes, with the EVT, EVRG, NEV and STH completing the orthogonal and hollow-shaft line-up. KINEX large high-precision reducers come in solid-shaft EH-N and hollow-shaft EH-C versions, and the DESCH and GRAESSNER brands add high-precision and right-angle gearboxes from Nidec’s German acquisitions. See our gearboxes hub for selection basics.

Motors and drives

Nidec’s small precision motor range includes brushless DC and stepping motors, among many other types. For servo drives and servo motors, though, the group’s industrial offer is Control Techniques: the Unidrive M and Digitax HD drives and Unimotor servo motors, designed and built in Newtown, Wales. Engineers specifying a complete axis often combine a Control Techniques drive and motor with a Nidec Drive Technology reducer, though nothing obliges that pairing.

Industries served

Nidec’s reducer pages tag robotics, mobility, medical and industrial machinery as applications, and describe the high-torque FLEXWAVE B2 as suited to robots and machine tools. ABLE servo reducers are general-purpose servo gearheads for indexing, handling and packaging axes. Our robotics and cobots page covers joint gearing requirements in more depth. When comparing Nidec reducers with other makes, ask for rated output torque, peak (emergency stop) torque, backlash or lost motion in arcminutes and the permitted input speed, because the allowable torque shown on Nidec’s overview pages is not the same figure every maker publishes.

Global and UK presence

Nidec operates worldwide from Kyoto through its group companies. In the UK, the largest motion-related operation is Nidec Control Techniques Ltd at The Gro, Newtown, Powys. For reducers, Nidec directs enquiries through its online enquiry forms and the Nidec Drive Technology catalogue and selection pages linked from nidec.com.

Sourcing Nidec parts through Specify Motion

Specify Motion is independent of Nidec and is not affiliated with it. We can help you source Nidec reducers and other motion parts for an existing machine, or propose equivalent gearboxes from our supply network on published figures where a second source makes sense. The find a replacement form is the quickest way to send us a part number or nameplate.

Nidec history: key dates

1. 1973Shigenobu Nagamori founds Nippon Densan Corporation in Kyoto; small precision AC motor production begins
2. 1998Listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
3. 2007Takes a stake in Japan Servo Co., Ltd.
4. 2017Acquires Emerson's motors, drives and power generation businesses, forming Nidec Control Techniques and Nidec Leroy-Somer
5. 2018Nidec-Shimpo acquires German reducer maker MS-Graessner
6. 2019Acquires DESCH Antriebstechnik and Systeme + Steuerungen
7. 2021Acquires Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Machine Tool
8. 2023Japanese corporate name changed to Nidec Kabushiki Gaisha

Nidec gearboxes

Strain-wave (harmonic) gear

FLEXWAVE strain wave reducers

Nidec Drive Technology strain wave gearing in flat (D) and high-torque (B2) versions as component sets, simple contained assemblies and complete units, sizes 35 to 100, ratios 50 to 160 and allowable torque up to 382 Nm (series maximum).

Planetary gearbox

ABLE VRB

Coaxial square-flange servo planetary reducer in frame sizes 042 to 220, ratios 3 to 100 and allowable torque 6 to 1,500 Nm; an ultra-high-precision VRB (sizes 090–140, ratios 4–10) is also offered.

Planetary gearbox

ABLE VRL

Round-flange coaxial servo planetary reducer in frame sizes 050 to 235, ratios 3 to 100 and allowable torque 6 to 1,500 Nm.

Planetary gearbox

ABLE VRS

Coaxial servo planetary reducer in frame sizes 060 to 240, ratios 3 to 100 and allowable torque 18 to 2,400 Nm; an ultra-high-precision VRS (sizes 075–140, ratios 4–10) is also listed.

Planetary gearbox

ABLE VRT

Flange-output coaxial servo planetary reducer in frame sizes 042 to 285, ratios 4 to 100 and allowable torque 6 to 3,300 Nm (series maximum).

Spiral bevel gearbox

ABLE EVS

Right-angle (orthogonal axis) servo reducer in frame sizes 060 to 240, ratios 3 to 100 and allowable torque 12 to 1,920 Nm.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Nidec website?

The group website is nidec.com, available in English, Japanese and Chinese. Its product pages cover small precision motors, medium and large motors, power transmission equipment such as reducers, sensors and machine tools. Reducer pages link to Nidec Drive Technology's catalogues and servo reducer selection tool, while drives are on the Control Techniques site.

How do I contact Nidec?

Nidec routes enquiries through online forms on nidec.com, either a general enquiry form or an enquiry-by-brand page that covers Control Techniques, Leroy-Somer and US Motors. The company outline page does not publish a head office phone number. For servo drives in the UK, Nidec Control Techniques Ltd lists controltechniques@mail.nidec.com.

Where is Nidec's headquarters?

NIDEC CORPORATION's head office is at 338 Kuzetonoshiro-cho, Minami-ku, Kyoto 601-8205, Japan. The company was established on 23 July 1973 and is listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange under code 6594. It reports 104,285 consolidated employees as of 31 March 2025.

Who owns Control Techniques?

Control Techniques is owned by Nidec. In 2017 Nidec bought Emerson's motors, drives and power generation businesses, creating Nidec Control Techniques Limited and Nidec Leroy-Somer Holding. Control Techniques still designs and builds drives in Newtown, Powys, and has its own profile on our site.

Does Nidec have a UK presence?

Yes. The most significant UK operation for motion engineers is Nidec Control Techniques Ltd at The Gro, Newtown, Powys SY16 3BE, which makes AC and servo drives. Nidec Drive Technology's reducers are supplied through the group's sales network; Nidec publishes contact routes for them through its online enquiry forms.

What motion products does Nidec make?

For motion axes, Nidec Drive Technology makes FLEXWAVE strain wave gearing, ABLE coaxial and right-angle servo planetary reducers, KINEX large precision reducers and DESCH and GRAESSNER gearboxes. Servo drives and servo motors come from Control Techniques. Nidec also makes brushless DC and stepping motors among many other motor types.

Sources

1. Nidec: Company outline
2. Nidec: History
3. Nidec: About NIDEC CORPORATION
4. Nidec: Reducers (power transmission)
5. Nidec: FLEXWAVE
6. Nidec: ABLE reducer, coaxial shaft
7. Nidec: ABLE reducer, orthogonal axis / hollow shaft
8. Nidec: KINEX
9. Nidec: Inquiry by product brand
10. Nidec Control Techniques: Contact information
11. Nidec: Small precision motors

Figures are summarised from the sources above and from manufacturers' published data on the date shown. Always confirm against the current datasheet for your exact part.