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Feature Article |
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... which I wrote for the executive "View From the Top" column in the November 2005 issue of the VigilantVoice |
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View From The Top: One Global Yokogawa Though physically the same size and topographically pretty much the same, our world is getting smaller. Globalization, the theme of last year’s Founder’s Day celebration, is progressing as fast as technology can advance. In 1915, a phone call between Japan and the United States was impossible (the first transpacific line was laid in 1934, and a three-minute call cost $39). Today, we can hold video conferences complete with streaming presentations. In 1915, the Boston Red Sox won their second World Series, but you couldn’t even listen to it on the radio (the first MLB radio broadcast was in 1922). Today you can "watch" multiple games on your computer and get updated stats pitch by pitch at the same time. By 1915, electric power had been around for a while, but the technology was unwieldy, expensive, unstandardized, inherently dangerous and, because of this, limited to major cities. Tamisuke Yokogawa recognized the importance of measuring power at various points in its usage, and created an electric meter research facility in Japan. In 90 years, Yokogawa has survived wars, catastrophes and economic stresses to become a truly global corporation boasting more than 7,000 patents and registrations and employing more than 18,000 people around the world. Yokogawa may not be a household name (yet), but it is well-known in engineering circles for its high-quality products and outstanding customer service. How well known? Just ask the 7,000+ attendees to Yokogawa’s 90th Anniversary in Tokyo in late October! For a lively writeup by Keith Larson, VP of Content for Putman Media (Control, Control Design, etc.), visit: http://www.livejournal.com/users/waltboyes/77943.html All the advancements of the last 90 years certainly have their heroes: the people who invented something that changed the world forever. But were it not for millions of others who globalized those inventions, where would we be? "We owe what we are today to the people who took on the challenge of launching the production of measuring instruments in Japan 90 years ago," said Isao Uchida, Yokogawa’s President and CEO, in the Founder’s Day address presented worldwide via DVD. Uchida-san continued, "We owe our prosperity to the customers, who have thought highly of our product; to the shareholders who have recognized the value of the Yokogawa Group; to the representatives who have promoted our product; and to the trading partners who have supplied materials and parts to Yokogawa." We also owe thanks to all the employees of the Yokogawa Group, for without their vigilance and hard work, there would be no faith in Yokogawa. It is our responsibility, as part of the mission to become the #1 supplier of instrumentation and control solutions by 2010, to be aware of how we can contribute to the growth and success of Yokogawa. Uchida-san also stated, "On this, our 90th Anniversary... I want to ask each of you to use this occasion to think about yourself, your company and the Yokogawa Group. The key phrase for this commemoration month is, ‘One Global Yokogawa,’ and the leading part in this occasion will be played by you, the 18,211 members of the Yokogawa Group." |
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