Spectrum analyzer, a major product of Ando ElectricPresident Uchida with Masao Motohashi (right), the then Ando president, announcing Yokogawa's acquisition of Ando's stockYokogawa won more orders for international large-scale projects as its business localized52In 2000, Yokogawa announced a new corporate strategy, VISION-21 & ACTION-21, to adjust to structural changes in the Japanese market and intensifying global competition. With this strategy, Yokogawa aimed to become a sound and protable company and set prot targets for scal year 2005. The company also aimed to expand the measurement and information businesses, which, together with the control business, would serve as the three main pillars for Yokogawa.In the measurement area, Yokogawa formed an alliance with Ando Electric in 2001 and then acquired all its stock in 2002. In 2004, the company integrated all of Ando's businesses. The measurement business, with optical measuring instruments and semiconductor testers, was reorganized into the communication and measuring instrument business and the advanced test equipment (ATE) business in 2003. Sales for the ATE business increased dramatically, making a great contribution to consolidated prots.In the information eld, Yokogawa worked on many new business projects through tie-ups with IT rms. The sta needed for these projects were secured by restructuring the control business. In addition, the company actively entered promising but challenging businesses.Bursting of the Dotcom Bubble and Another Structural ReformIn 2001, the situation took a turn for the worse due to developments in the US such as the bursting of the dotcom bubble and the terrorist attacks of September 11. Yokogawa made every eort to avoid losses, including slashing costs, reducing pay, and furloughing sta. In 2002-2004, 15 of the 19 production facilities in Japan were closed, and the global system for procurement, production, and logistics was revamped. Under this new system, as of November 2015 there are seven plants in ve countries that produce a variety of products for the global market, seven plants in six countries that produce control and measurement products for the local market, and ve plants in Japan that produce products for other businesses. The Group companies in Japan were also reduced and integrated. At the same time, Yokogawa strengthened its nancial position. For example, it sold o Hewlett-Packard Japan (the former Yokogawa-Hewlett-Packard) stock and converted the preferred stock of GE Yokogawa Medical Systems (former Yokogawa Medical Systems). Using part of these capital gains, Yokogawa eliminated a shortfall in the reserves for retirement pensions and compensated for an extraordinary loss associated with the reduction and integration of subsidiaries. Thus, Yokogawa quickly restored its nancial health.Making Engineering More CompetitiveThe number of Group companies outside Japan increased in the 1980s and Yokogawa products became better known for their excellent reliability. As a result, the number of orders for large projects was increasing outside Japan. However, Yokogawa’s engineering system could not eectively handle large projects in emerging and resource-rich countries. Although Yokogawa’s customer-centered and quality-rst approach was highly valued, our oces in individual countries were not up to the challenge of implementing large-scale, long-term projects. Therefore, Yokogawa set up the Global Engineering Solution Center (GESC) in Singapore in 2001, to work with our engineering oces in India, China, and the Philippines. This system reduced costs and improved the quality of projects by sharing the expertise and know-how available at each of these locations.In the early 2000s, Yokogawa won an order for China’s then-largest petrochemical complex project. This was the rst project in which Yokogawa served as the main automation contractor (MAC). Many employees from dierent countries worked together to complete the project, which was highly praised by the customer. This was one of the achievements of the GESC.Yokogawa’s History —— Chapter 4Isao Uchida
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