Be number one in industrial automation in the world by 2010. This continues to be the target pursued by Yokogawa Corp., the Japan-based process control automation supplier that today ranks second. However, the company’s Brazilian subsidiary has already reached this goal locally. Yokogawa has operated in Brazil since 1973, and is the leading supplier of process control instrumentation and test and measurement equipment in the country. It has a solid 40 percent share of the Distributed Control Systems (DCS) market.

This information was one of several things announced at a recent press conference commemorating 35 years of Yokogawa presence in Brazil. The subsidiary today is also responsible for the company business in all of South America. With branches in Argentina, Chile and Colombia and shortly in Peru, Yokogawa South America has in Brazil its leader in the region. “Even with the world financial crisis, we will continue growing. We cannot bend our revenue, but the growth continues,” guarantees Nelson Ninin, Yokogawa South America president.

To celebrate its 35th anniversary, Yokogawa South America hosted receptions on Oct. 30 and 31. It also held its third System User Group Conference Oct. 29-30. Present for all the commemoration events was Shuzo Kaihori, Yokogawa corporate president, Teruyoshi Minaki, Yokogawa Electric International president and Shinichi Yoshida, Yokogawa Electric International director.

At the press conference, Kaihori said that the company is focusing on the South America, South Africa and Asia markets—especially in environmental control processes. “As this subject is governed by standards and laws, the companies have to invest in process improvements, independent of the economic crisis,” he said.

Regarding the global economic crisis, Minaki said that the process industries are slower to react. “In that sense, we still don’t have reductions in the investments of those industries.”

About the author

Sílvia Pereira, silviapereira@uol.com.br, is a freelance journalist based in Brazil.