Yokogawa expands in Houston

Staff -- Control Engineering, 5/1/2006

Houston—Yokogawa dedicated its 100,000 sq ft sales and service complex in Sugar Land, TX, on March 8. Top management and other officials participating in a "spiritually refreshing" sake ceremony, offering blessings, happiness, and good business to assembled employees, customers, partners, other guests, and their families. Opened in September 2005, the building has a customer care center, presentation room, three demo rooms, global response center, regional modification and distribution center for transmitters, analytical lab, conference rooms, training rooms, and areas for engineering, sales, staging, and shipping. For hurricanes Katrina and Rita, part of the building served as a staging area for equipment and supplies for afflicted industries.

David Johnson, Yokogawa's first U.S.-born president and COO, says the facility suits customers and will provide a stronger local presence for Yokogawa in the heart of the energy and petrochemical industries. "North America offers the most competitive dynamic market for process control, with a wealth of customers, management, and talent in the Houston area," Johnson says.