Yokogawa marks new era in Asia - Control Engineering Asia

Yokogawa marks new era in Asia

MM Lee Kuan Yew: special guest of honor at the opening ceremony.

The first week of July saw Yokogawa marking the completion of its new 12-storey headquarters in Singapore with a number of high profile events, including a formal opening by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, a Technology Innovations Fair, and a User Conference. The new Yokogawa building will be home to a number of key businesses:

• International business HQ that oversees all global operations outside of Japan, Korea, China.
• Regional business HQ for Asean and Oceania
• Global engineering solutions center
• R&D center for software applications
• Global DCS manufacturing center
• And the newly established EJA Transmitter manufacturing line

"To accelerate business expansion and support our vision of becoming the leading industrial automation player by 2010, Yokogawa will continue to strengthen the Singapore operation and create a firm platform for conducting business in Asia and beyond," said Shuzo Kaihori, President, Yokogawa Electric Corporation. "This new Yokogawa building will play a significant role in our expansion plans."

Long relationship

Noting the long relationship between Yokogawa and Singapore, Isao Uchida, Chairman and CEO Isao Uchida spoke of his own decision back in 1973 to recommend Singapore over America or Europe for the company's first venture outside of Japan: "The Singapore government was led by Lee Kuan Yew, a very strong and visionary leader who was consistent in both speech and action. The local population spoke English and the social infrastructure was either well established or on the way to being established."

The Technology Innovations Fair: current Yokogawa offerings (above) plus a glimpse into the future (below).

"I am happy to be here for the opening of Yokogawa Electric Corp's new building in Singapore. Mr Uchida was the MD of Yokogawa's Singapore operations in the early 70s. He has been a strong supporter of many Singapore-Japan initiatives such as the Japan-Singapore Training Centre," said MM Lee.

"Japanese companies should go beyond seeing Singapore as a lower cost production base, and instead see Singapore as a 'value creation' solution. Singapore will develop and refine our value proposition to be part of the global expansion strategy of Japanese and other MNCs. I hope more Japanese companies will follow Yokogawa's policy of partnering Singapore by upgrading their operations here."

Present & future

Held for the first time in Asia outside Japan, from July 3-7, the Yokogawa Technology Innovations Fair showcases the company's cutting edge developments not only in industrial automation but in sectors as diverse as aerospace, medical, and optical communication.

Automation exhibits included the VigilantPlant Command Center—depicting a realistic control room environment; wireless EJX sensor; and the new FieldMate device management tool.

And in a section dubbed the Future Zone, were displayed Yokogawa's technologies and developments for the next decade, categorized under Field-ubiquitous Computing—IPv6, wireless sensing, real-time tracking simulation technology; Microtechnology—MEMS-based microreactor for fine chemical production, and in-house development of key silicon devices; and Photonics Technology—40 Gbps fast optical packet network system for next generation communication.

And held over two days (July 4-5), the Production Excellence Users Conference included presentations from key customers such as Shell, Petronas, Saudi Aramco, as well as from senior level Yokogawa staff. Topics covered included Process Safety, Advanced Process Control in LNG, Plant Re-instrumentation, and Yokogawa's Corporate R&D strategy.