Belden Inc., a manufacturer of signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications, announced a new agreement with Yokogawa Electric Corporation in which Belden's Hirschmann brand industrial Ethernet products will be used in Yokogawa's global industrial application solutions. Yokogawa, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a supplier of industrial automation and control solutions in a wide range of process markets.

"We are pleased to announce the agreement between Belden and Yokogawa," said John Stroup, president and CEO of Belden. "This relationship demonstrates Belden's leadership position in industrial networking and expands our growth opportunities in Japan and throughout the world."

Under the terms of the agreement, Yokogawa will use Hirschmann Industrial Ethernet switches in their Vnet/IP high-speed control networks, and provide maintenance services to facilitate the deployment of highly reliable control networks. Plant control communication networks in markets such as oil & gas, power transmission & distribution, pharmaceuticals and water/wastewater are harsh environments where “signal integrity cannot be compromised," added Stroup.

Satoru Kurosu, director and senior vice president of Yokogawa Electric , said, “Yokogawa will offer Hirschmann Industrial Ethernet switches from Belden because our customers demand that their network solutions have been designed to the highest standards and tested in the toughest environments. They are the perfect choice to ensure the highest confidence in performance for long-term, stable control networks."
St. Louis-based Belden designs, manufactures and markets cable, connectivity, and networking products for industrial automation, enterprise, transportation, infrastructure and consumer electronics applications, and has been filling out its portfolio by making strategic acquisitions. In addition to acquiring Hirschmann in 2007, within the last year it has acquired GarrettCom (Ethernet switches, routers and security devices) and Byres Security (industrial network security products).

Renee Robbins Bassett, rbassett@automationworld.com, is managing editor of Automation World magazine.