October 28, 2004
Yamatake announces reforms aimed at a bold new beginning to the company's 2nd century.
Head Office move and factory reorganization will reap rewards in staffing, development & engineering, and manufacturing.
In 2006 Yamatake Corporation will celebrate its centennial and, leading up to this milestone event, the company will significantly improve its staffing, development & engineering, and manufacturing functions. For this reason, Yamatake has announced a series of measures, which include moving the Tokyo Head Office from Shibuya to Marunouchi, constructing an R&D Center at its Fujisawa factory, and reorganizing Yamatake Group* manufacturing facilities.
On December 1, 2006, Yamatake Corporation will have been in business for exactly 100 years. In April 2003, the company implemented a merger of its subsidiaries Yamatake Building Systems Co., Ltd. and Yamatake Industrial Systems Co., Ltd., aiming at market expansion through a fusion of its building automation and industrial automation businesses. The company has also been developing new businesses involving sewage inflow prediction, food safety, and health & welfare. Now, in the further pursuit of the goal, set out in the company's medium-term management plan, of achieving sales of 200 billion yen in FY2006, and in order to lay the foundation for future growth and development in Yamatake's second century, the following reforms have been decided.
Improved efficiency through staffing reforms:
- Head Office to move to Marunouchi
Since November 2003, Yamatake has been implementing staffing reforms, eliminating and cutting back on redundant business processes, integrating functions previously duplicated by Head Office staff and in-house company staff, and conducting organizational reviews. By March 2005 major improvements will be achieved in the business efficiency of each department through BPR, releasing more than 20% of the workforce for relocation, following structural reforms, to enhance the company’s strategic planning functions and strengthen business promotion and support.
Finally, in November 2005, the Tokyo Head Office will be moved from Shibuya to Marunouchi in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward. It will be staffed by small, efficient teams serving the Head Office and in-house companies, and reinforcing strategic planning and administrative functions. This new Head Office will be located on the 19th floor of the Tokyo Building (provisional name) currently being constructed by Mitsubishi Estate at 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku.
Reform of development & engineering:
-R&D Center (provisional name) to be constructed
Staff now involved in marketing, product development, engineering and quality evaluation for the in-house companies are spread out at three different locations: the Fujisawa factory, Isehara factory, and Kanagawa Shinmachi. In future, these employees will all be based at Fujisawa, integrating development & engineering functions, and significantly shortening process flows. Yamatake will expand its technical resources through synergy between building systems and the industrial systems. For this purpose, in April 2005 construction will start on an R&D Center with a total floor space of approximately 17,000m2 within the Fujisawa factory compound; completion is planned for November 2006, marking the company's first century in business. This Center will ensure close communication between staff involved in everything from basic research through to product development, speeding up the development of products aimed at completely new business fields, and accelerating the creation of new core businesses that will stand alongside Yamatake's building systems and industrial systems. Projected capital investment totals 5 billion yen.
Manufacturing reform:
-Reorganization of 5 domestic production facilities planned
Yamatake's overseas manufacturing in China comprises the Dalian factory, the Shenzhen factory, and the NanQiao (Shanghai) factory. These facilities are steadily increasing production volume and expanding the range of products they handle. In Japan, however, so as to make further improvements in production efficiency and reduce overall costs, Yamatake is planning the reorganization of 5 manufacturing facilities, including those of its subsidiaries: Fujisawa factory, Isehara factory, Shonan factory, Yamatake Control Products, and Fujisawa Distribution Center. At present, the details are still being finalized but they will be announced early in 2005. Phased implementation is planned to start in April 2005, with an estimated total capital investment of 1 billion yen.
In carrying out these measures, Yamatake Corporation is looking ahead to its upcoming centennial and making all necessary preparations for a bold new beginning to the company's 2nd century.
* The Yamatake Group changed its name to the azbil Group.
