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The executive board of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) has elected Takayuki Ito as its new Vice President. Ito is currently Fanuc’s senior managing officer for its robotics business.

Ito succeeds Kenji Yamaguchi, also from Fanuc, in the role. Yamaguchi took over as VP in July 2022 when Marina Bill took over as the IFR’s president.

Ito brings over 40 years of robotics industry experience to the role. He began working for Fanuc in 1981 as a software engineer. In 1997, he became the execute president of FANUC Robotics North America, and he returned to its parent company and served as general manager at its Robot Technology Center in 2002.

The IFR acts as the voice of the global robotics industry. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1987 and represents national robot associations, academia and manufacturers of industrial and service robots from over 20 countries.

The IFR produces various reports throughout the year tracking the sales of robots around the world. It recently reported that the North American robotics market showed strong growth. According to the IFR, total installations in manufacturing rose by 12% and reached 41,624 units in 2022. The number one adopter was the automotive industry: companies based in the U.S., Canada and Mexico installed 20,391 industrial robots – up 30% compared to 2021.