横河電機新社屋開所式 2006年3月8日在ヒューストン日本国総領事 加茂佳彦
Chairman Minaki, Vice President Kaihori, Mayor Wallace, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen;
It is indeed a great honor and pleasure to be here with you today to witness the grand opening of Yokogawa Corporation’s 100,000 square foot building. I appreciate your kind invitation. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Minaki and Yokogawa Corporation on your success with expanding your base here in Sugar Land, Texas.
I understand that Yokogawa Corporation of America has its headquarters in the state of Georgia, near Atlanta. Speaking of Atlanta, the rivalry between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves is well-known even in Japan. Well, of course the odds are in the Astros’s favor now since they won the National League last year, and I am glad that Yokogawa Corporation has branched out to Houston to cheer up Astros!
Yokogawa Corporation is a worldwide corporation which operates in 28 countries.In the United States, there are 8 facilities including ones in Chicago, Detroit, Boston and Dallas.The Houston office is one of the major bases with oil giants such as Shell, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil as customers.The main function of Yokogawa Corp.’s Houston office is to promote the sales of industrial automation system in U.S. market.
As the Consul-General overseeing Texas and Oklahoma from Houston, I would like to express my cordial welcome to Yokogawa Corporation. It will be an invaluable asset to this unique city of Houston. Yokogawa Electric Corporation is typical of a good Japanese manufacturing company. Their business performance depends on sophisticated technology rather than on advertising campaigns aimed solely on selling products. Strong technology is the key for a long success. I am certain that Yokogawa is and will continue to be one of the leading Japanese companies that supports our economy, and Yokogawa Corporation America will be one of the representative Japanese subsidiaries achieving success in the United States.
Last week, I visited San Antonio to attend their International Citizen of the Year Award ceremony. The main speaker of that night was Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, the honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation, and he told us “corporate citizenship” is something he learned from this country.In this regard, Yokogawa Corporation has welcomed an American President Mr. David Johnson, and has adopted the American philosophy of “corporate citizenship.”I believe Yokogawa’s willingness to learn from and to accommodate itself to American business culture will bring about its continued success in the United States.
Finally, I would like to highly commend Yokogawa’s decision to select SugarLand as its Southwest Regional Headquarters.SugarLand is a city inhabited by people who have pursued and attained American Dream.This is the land of opportunity, and anybody who has skills, and any company that has technology will have a chance to achieve a big success.Selecting the right place is an important first step, and a good start means a promising future.
The Consulate-General of Japan is determined to spare no effort in assisting Japanese companies with conducting business smoothly in Texas, and in this regard, we are grateful to the local governments for all the support they have provided to Japanese companies.
I sincerely wish continued success for Yokogawa Corporation America and for continued prosperity for the city of Sugar Land.
Thank you very much.