Yokogawa marks 50 years in North America

Yokogawa Corp. of America celebrated 50 years of business in North America at its Newnan, GA headquarters on Oct. 18.

By Plant Engineering Staff October 24, 2007

Yokogawa Corp. of America celebrated 50 years of business in North America at its Newnan, GA headquarters on Oct. 18.Founded in 1915 in Tokyo, Yokogawa is focused on measurement, control and information. In October 1957, the company opened a small sales, service and marketing office in New York. Registered as Yokogawa Electric Works Inc., it was considered an epoch event to the Japan Electric Measuring Instruments Manufacturers’ Association for one of its members to have an office outside of Japan — especially one in New York City.The Company’s business began to grow in America when, in 1962, a US-Japan joint project launched a rocket into space to measure the ionosphere and Yokogawa’s measurement instruments were on board. The company’s name was changed to Yewtec Corp. in 1968. By the time the company name was changed to Yokogawa Corp. of America in 1975, it expanded its product offering and had gained momentum in reaching its market share goals.As its customer base increased, there was greater demand for some products to be manufactured in the United States. At that time, one of Yokogawa’s American consultants introduced a golden opportunity, informing the Tokyo headquarters that Coweta County in Georgia was planning an industrial park and inviting manufacturers such as Yokogawa with good incentives. In 1980, Yokogawa opened a manufacturing facility in Newnan, Georgia, and the Company’s business in the United States began a new expansion phase.Hoping to achieve an increase in its systems business similar to that of the Asian market, Yokogawa established a joint venture company with the American-based company, Johnson Controls Inc. in 1989. At the same time, it divided its operations in the United States into two divisions: YCA for the Test & Measurement business and Johnson Yokogawa Corp. (JYC) for the Industrial Automation business.This joint venture was dissolved in 1997 and Yokogawa began to make steady progress in preparation for a full-scale system business by the Yokogawa Group, especially in the areas of engineering, manufacturing and marketing. The role of Yokogawa Corp. of America went beyond that of just being the America branch office; it also became a core member of the Yokogawa Group, sharing the common expertise of all the Group companies.The growth for Yokogawa in America began at ISA Expo in 2003 with the announcement of a full scale global business marketing concept — Vigilance. Then, in February 2005 at the ARC Forum in Orlando, Yokogawa Electric Corp. Chairman Isao Uchida announced that Yokogawa would become the global number-one player in the industrial automation business in 2010.Yokogawa officially opened a new facility in Sugar Land, Texas, on Sept. 16, 2005. The company is planning an additional 300,000 square foot expansion to this facility.