The Japan Times WORLD EYE REPORTS GERMANY'S RHINE-MAIN REGION
©THE JAPAN TIMES	Thursday, October 25, 2001

Forging the world's future through essential technology What's in a name? In today's increasingly global market, the big companies are betting the answer is "everything." The lucky ones are those who have had the benefit of a name that has had time to establish its reputation prior to today's mass-branding revolution. Fuji Electric can count itself on that list.

Fuji Electric's omnipresence in daily life is led in Germany by Hisatoshi Mizuta.

Names still don't automatically equate sales, though, unless the company has proven its product. Hisatoshi Mizuta, managing director of Fuji Electric's Frankfurt-based subsidiary, knows this and employs the idea by heading a company that provides a range of high-quality products in power and electronics to both industries and consumers. A sampling of the company's offerings runs from power semiconductors and inverters to magnetic disks. What makes Fuji Electric one of the four leading power semi-conductor manufacturers in the world, however, is not simply its quality products but also the conscious tailoring of its creations to an ever more globally-oriented landscape. For example, it produces goods that incorporate solutions for the world's current and future concerns. "One of the most pressing of these issues today is energy conservation," explains Mizuta. "Fuji Electric has positioned itself as one of the key manufacturers of the inverter technology used in wind and solar power applications."

Fuji Electric products surround us. Mostly undetectable, their products are the building blocks of what we use. In a typical workday, the consumer comes into contact with their product several times. Elevators employ their inverters to modulate speed, as do the trains we travel on, to make rides smoother and more efficient. Drums designed by the company can be found in the ubiquitous office photocopier.

Mizuta is aware of the various levels of working life at which Fuji Electric products are involved. This, he believes, will determine the future's success. The company's products are necessary for key industries -- transportation, process automation, factory automation, and office efficiency.

In a market where analysts are increasingly urging their investors to put their money into products that power essentials and not luxury items, Fuji Electric is expected to prosper. While consumers can cut down on Burberry umbrellas, they can't do without traveling, elevators, and every sort of energy powered product -- all areas in which Fuji Electric has a hand.