Ishida Co Ltd has announced the death of the company’s honorary chairman and former president Ryuichi Ishida, who passed away after a short illness on the 18th January.

Ishida was the fourth generation of the Ishida family to lead the company, joining the business in 1960 and becoming president in 1967, a position he held until 2010 when he became chairman of Ishida, passing on the presidency to his son Mr Takahide Ishida. Upon his retirement in 2014, he was appointed Ishida’s Honorary Chairman.

Ryuichi Ishida is acknowledged as a pioneer within the weighing and packing industry. Under his leadership and entrepreneurship, Ishida developed and launched the world’s first computer combination multihead weigher in 1972, and he significantly grew the business worldwide, expanding the company’s global reach to over 105 countries.

Among many honours during his career, Ishida was the recipient of the Snack Foods Association’s Circle of Honour award in 1998 in recognition of his numerous innovations and their positive impact on the global food industry. He was also awarded the prestigious “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon” in April 2009, in recognition of his contribution to the development of the packaging industry in his role as President of the Japanese Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Association.