37Yokogawa 100th AnniversaryBecoming the Top Electric Meter Maker in JapanFollowing Western countries, Japan began to use electric lights in the 1880s. By 1912, light bulbs were in use throughout central Tokyo and a few railway lines had been electried. However, electric meters were still all imports and the outbreak of World War I in 1914 made it dicult to import them from Western countries. There also was a movement to shift for the supply of electricity from at-rate to tiered-rate plans, and so there was an urgent need to produce electric meters for Japanese industry.After preparations were nished for the start up of factory operations, the electric meter research institute was renamed Yokogawa Electric Works. While planning for the mass-production of watt-hour meters, Yokogawa employees continued developing the industrial electric indicating meters that would prove indispensable in the safe and accurate control of electricity. In 1917, Yokogawa succeeded in developing prototypes that received high acclaim from universities and research institutions, and went on to release AC/DC ammeters, voltmeters, and other prototypes for portable and switchboard use. Yokogawa also created the industry’s rst product catalog.Yokogawa’s uncompromising pursuit of excellence, with executives themselves visiting customers to hear their opinions on Yokogawa products, earned it the cooperation of such entities as the Ministry of Communications, whose laboratory Ichiro Yokogawa and Shin Aoki once worked in. As a result, Yokogawa products came to have a high reputation. The timing for the establishment of Yokogawa was perfect, since electricity was providing over 50% of the energy required to run plants in Japan in 1917. Aoki played a central role in setting standards for electric indicating meters, which also demonstrated Yokogawa’s technological capabilities.In 1918, Yokogawa constructed a two-story wooden factory building, and began strictly following a policy of “quality rst.” Management pushed so hard that they often won orders for products that were still in development. Nevertheless, these pushy tactics enabled Yokogawa to master technologies quickly, and eventually to begin exporting products via a trading company in 1919.With the number of employees reaching 110 in 1919, Yokogawa actively trained them through technology seminars and other means. The employee training led to an acceleration of the company’s research eorts and the development of an industry-leading production system. This featured division of labor, mass production, downsizing of instruments, and addition of high value. As a result, Yokogawa built a solid foundation for its business.In 1920, having grown into a leading manufacturer in Japan in terms of product range and number of employees, Yokogawa was incorporated to modernize its management.Oscillograph: an Early Main Product of YokogawaAfter the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, plants in Japan came to rely even more on electricity as an energy source, and the electricity billing system shifted completely to tiered-rate plans. While terminating the manufacturing of watt-hour meters that were less competitive in price, Yokogawa completed development of Japan’s rst portable electromagnetic oscillograph in 1924, and it became a great hit. In addition to its low price (about half the price of imported models), the device had a number of improved features. This product won an honorary award at the 1926 Peace Exhibition in Ueno, Tokyo, a rst for the measuring instrument industry. The oscillograph helped boost Yokogawa’s prole as a technology company, and continued to be a major source of income until the advent of Braun-type cathode-ray tube oscillographs after World War II.Beginning in 1927, Japan was hit by a succession of economic crises. Yokogawa, however, weathered them by increasing the sales of oscillographs and releasing groups of products that incorporated Yokogawa technologies based on its many years of R&D. These products included DC watt-hour meters and portable high-frequency meters. A prototype of a cathode-ray oscillograph that can monitor micro-second level electric changes was completed in 1929 thanks to much hard work by sta as well as advice from many academics and electrotechnical laboratories, and soon dominated the market after its successful release.As Yokogawa came to be known more widely, a trademark to clearly identify the brand became necessary. In 1927, Yokogawa registered YEW (Yokogawa Electric Works) as its trademark. In 1930, Yokogawa exhibited its precision measuring instruments, including cathode-ray oscillographs, at an overseas exhibition and won an honorary award, and thus Yokogawa products and YEW came to be known outside Japan.Scale markingElectric meter for switchboardsPortable ammeterAt the company's 10th anniversaryPortable oscillograph
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