Felix L. Velasquez, a University of California, Davis engineering graduate, has over 35 years of experience in the Robotics and Automation industries. His expertise spans across sectors such as Semiconductor, Biomedical, Machine Tooling, Food, Life Sciences, Renewable Energy, and Automation. He began his career as a Mechanical Design Engineer and rose through the ranks to become an executive officer at a major corporation. Throughout his career, he has been instrumental in opening branch offices and managing operational costs.

Before co-founding Applied Mechatronics Technologies, Felix began his career at THK in 1991 as an Applications Engineer—becoming the first American engineer hired by the Japanese company. Self-motivated and proactive, he took the initiative to conduct local marketing efforts and customer presentation seminars to educate the industry on the latest electro-mechanical systems. His success in organizing and delivering these seminars throughout THK’s western territory was a major factor in the company’s regional growth. Initially, these educational sessions were held at customer sites, but they soon expanded to hotel venues and conference facilities.
Notable companies he has worked with include Applied Materials, KLA, Lam Research, HAAS Automation, Boeing, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Lockheed Missiles and Space Company.

Felix played a key role in THK’s expansion in the Western Region. He established THK’s first San Francisco office in Fremont, California, and after several relocations, developed a Research and Development facility at its current location in Livermore, California. Under his leadership, annual sales revenue grew from $400,000 to $30 million within seven years, while the branch achieved over 21% net profit, becoming one of THK’s most profitable operations globally. His final position at THK was Corporate Mechatronics Manager for the Americas.

Following his tenure at THK, Felix held various leadership roles, including Director of Engineering, Regional Technical Sales Director, National Manager – Solar Division, Regional Sales Manager, and Engineering Manager at several leading companies in the motion and automation field. These include Hiwin Corporation, Schneeberger, A. Raymond Tinnerman, CPC Chieftek Precision Corporation, and NSK Precision America.

Founding Applied Mechatronics Technologies represents one of the most meaningful and challenging milestones of Felix’s career. His mission is to share his 35 years of expertise in manufacturing automation with future generations of Filipino engineers—empowering them with the knowledge and skills needed to drive innovation and industrial growth. Ultimately, his vision is to help make the Philippines a better place to live—for our children and the generations to come.