SMC

Manufacturer information and published contact details

SMC contact details

Head office

Akihabara UDX Building 15F
4-14-1 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 101-0021
Japan

Website smcworld.com

UK office and technical centre (SMC Corporation (UK) Ltd)

Vincent Avenue, Crownhill
Milton Keynes MK8 0AN
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 330 311 6687

Email sales.gb@smc.com

Web smc.eu/en-gb/contact-us

Show SMC headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

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

SMC product lines

Who SMC is

SMC Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of automation components with its head office in Tokyo. It describes itself as the world market leader in pneumatic automation technology. Engineers who know SMC mainly for cylinders and valves may not realise it also makes a broad electric actuator range, the LE series. It covers rod actuators, sliders, slide tables, rotary tables and grippers, all sharing controllers and set-up software.

SMC publishes about 12,000 basic models with more than 700,000 variations. Its annual report gives 23,127 consolidated employees and net sales of ¥776,873 million for the year to 31 March 2024. The company says it has more than 500 sales offices in over 80 countries and five technical centres, two of them in Europe, in the UK and Germany.

History

SMC’s heritage page dates the company to 1959, when it started trading as Shoketsu Kogo Co Ltd, the Sintered Metal Corporation. The page credits Yoshiyuki Takada as founder and describes eight mostly part-time employees in the early days. Air line equipment (filters, regulators, lubricators) followed in 1961, automatic control equipment in 1964 and air cylinders in 1970. Directly operated solenoid valves came in 1971.

The first overseas subsidiary opened in Australia in 1967, and the first in Europe, in Switzerland, in 1976. Subsidiaries in the UK and Germany followed in 1978. The company took the name SMC Corporation in 1986 and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. SMC’s Japan Technical Centre was completed in 1991 and the European Technical Centre in 2000. Production plants started in Russia (2011) and the Czech Republic (2012).

SMC is an independent listed company and is not part of another group.

Electric actuator portfolio

Rod actuators

The LEY rod actuator is SMC’s electric answer to the air cylinder. It comes in sizes 16 to 100 with a 24 V DC step motor, a 24 V DC servo motor or an AC servo motor from 100 to 750 W, and is also available motorless. Pushing force runs from 141 N on the LEY16 step version to 12,000 N on the LEY100. Speeds reach 1,200 mm/s on the LEY32 AC servo version, strokes reach 1,000 mm and repeatability is ±0.02 mm. The LEYG guide-rod variant adds anti-rotation guide rods for side loads.

Choosing between motor types on the LEY changes the figures a lot. On the LEY32, the 24 V step motor version gives 707 N pushing force at up to 500 mm/s. The AC servo version gives 588 N at up to 1,200 mm/s. In short, the step motor suits pushing and clamping at moderate speed, and the AC servo suits fast moves between positions. Both are quoted at ±0.02 mm repeatability.

Sliders

The LEFS ball screw slider carries up to 65 kg horizontally, reaches 1,500 mm/s with AC servo motors and offers strokes to 1,200 mm. A clean-room version complies with ISO Class 4 to ISO 14644-1. For heavier loads, the LEJS high-rigidity slider reaches 85 kg, 1,800 mm/s and 1,500 mm stroke at ±0.01 mm repeatability. A made-to-order LEJS100 handles 400 kg horizontally. Its belt-drive counterpart, the LEJB, reaches 3,000 mm/s over strokes up to 3,000 mm.

Controllers and other types

SMC supplies controllers and drivers for its actuators, including step-motor controllers, AC servo drivers, manifold controllers for up to 16 axes and gateway units for fieldbus connection. Slide tables (LES, LESH), miniature actuators (LEP), rotary tables (LER) and electric grippers complete the range.

Technologies and standards

Two features run through the LE range. One is pushing control: the actuator can hold a set force against a workpiece, which suits pressing and clamping tasks that once used air. The other is the battery-less absolute encoder offered on many step-motor versions, which lets an axis restart from its last position without homing. SMC’s newer LE2 series uses this encoder too. For help deciding between step and servo drive, see our servo vs stepper guide. For sizing, our linear actuator sizing guide covers force, speed and duty.

Industries served

SMC’s UK pages highlight recent development of hygienic-design cylinders and ultra-high vacuum technology alongside general factory automation. Its electric actuators are typically found in assembly, electronics, packaging, food and laboratory equipment, wherever an air cylinder is replaced to gain programmable positions or lower air consumption.

Global and UK presence

SMC has been in the UK since 1978. Its UK company is based at Vincent Avenue, Crownhill, Milton Keynes, which SMC describes as a purpose-built facility with about 300 colleagues and 70 field-based sales staff. The UK contact page publishes +44 (0)330 311 6687 and sales.gb@smc.com, with a separate technical support line. UK engineers can buy directly from SMC; the smc.eu site provides the electric actuator sizing tool, manuals and controller set-up software.

Specify Motion and SMC

Specify Motion is independent of SMC and is not affiliated with it. We can help source SMC electric actuators or propose equivalents from our supply network that meet the same published force, stroke and speed figures, confirmed by an engineer. Send a model code through find a replacement, or see our linear actuators hub.

SMC history: key dates

1. 1959Company starts trading as Shoketsu Kogo Co Ltd (Sintered Metal Corporation)
2. 1970First manufacture and sale of air cylinders
3. 1976First European subsidiary established in Switzerland
4. 1978UK and German subsidiaries established
5. 1986Company renamed SMC Corporation
6. 2000European Technical Centre completed
7. 2012Production plant in the Czech Republic starts manufacturing

SMC linear actuators

Rod actuator

LEY

SMC's electric rod actuator in sizes 16 to 100 with 24 V DC step or servo motors or AC servo motors; series maximum 12,000 N pushing force (LEY100), 1,200 mm/s and 1,000 mm stroke, repeatability +/-0.02 mm.

Rodless screw actuator

LEFS

Ball screw slider-type electric actuator in sizes 16 to 40; series maximum 65 kg horizontal work load, 1,500 mm/s (AC servo) and 1,200 mm stroke, repeatability down to +/-0.01 mm.

Rodless screw actuator

LEJS

High-rigidity ball screw slider with AC servo motor in sizes 40 and 63; series maximum 85 kg horizontal load, 1,800 mm/s and 1,500 mm stroke at +/-0.01 mm repeatability.

Rodless belt actuator

LEJB

High-rigidity belt-drive slider with AC servo motor in sizes 40 and 63; series maximum 3,000 mm/s, 3,000 mm stroke and 30 kg horizontal load.