Global Colleagues

In this section, you will meet your future colleagues who can tell you what it is like to work for Yokogawa, what they like best about their jobs and why they chose Yokogawa.

• Alwin de Bruin, Corporate Controller, Yokogawa Europe
• Jennie Snijder, DCS Lead Engineer, Yokogawa Europe
• Garry Emerton, Systems Engineer, Yokogawa Europe
• John Noren, Project Manager, Yokogawa Corporation of America
• McNeil Caldwell, Payroll Manager, Yokogawa Corporation of America
• Kathy Chu, Software Engineer, Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte. Ltd.
• Lim Boon Choon, Vice President, Singapore Sales, Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte. Ltd.
• Raghavan Surianarayanan, Project Manager, Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte. Ltd.
• Yeo Swee Huat, General Manager, SPSM, Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte. Ltd.
• Akihiro Koseki, Basic Software Development Engineer, Yokogawa Electric Corporation
• Yoshihisa Ihara, Project Engineer, Yokogawa Electric Corporation

Alwin de Bruin has just made an interesting career move. Having worked for a few years as Manager Corporate Reporting, he was recently appointed Corporate Controller Europe. “It symbolizes Yokogawa”, Alwin explains. “With an eye for the ambition of its people and supporting them in their career with excellent training possibilities and a perfect career infrastructure”

Alwin joined Yokogawa Europe six years ago as Corporate Reporting Employee. The department consists of young, dynamic and ambitious people that are responsible for checking the financial figures of the European and African Yokogawa offices. “It’s a job that requires understanding the story behind the figures. Based on these figures we report on budget developments and give advice on the development of operational costs and financial ratios. The reports are then consolidated into one European report for our Japanese headquarters. In-depth analysis and control is only possible with the support of our local affiliates. That is why I have a lot of contact with colleagues of European and African offices”, says Alwin.

Asked for the reason why Alwin chose Yokogawa as an employer he explains: “The job of Corporate Reporting Employee appealed to me. Yokogawa is an international company and therefore you have a lot of contact with colleagues abroad. You learn to understand other cultures and meanwhile try to achieve the best results as a team. On the other hand Yokogawa is not as big as other multinationals. That enables you to stay in touch with the basics of your company. That combination is still very attractive.”

Jennie Snijder joined Yokogawa nine years ago as a System Engineer and became DCS Lead Engineer over the years. After being offered a job by another company she left Yokogawa. However, after ten months she returned: “Simply because Yokogawa is a great place to work.”

Jennie started working for Yokogawa as a temporary worker. She liked the job, her colleagues and the company and so she decided to join Yokogawa. “The informal contacts and the international character of the company are quite appealing. In addition, Yokogawa offers many possibilities for its employees to develop. It gave me the opportunity to grow from system engineer to DCS Lead Engineer .”

International business
The switch between the two jobs was made during one of Jennie’s most appealing assignments: the Sakhalin-project. A prestigious project where Yokogawa supplied the control, monitoring and safety systems and a variety of software packages for two offshore platforms, an onshore processing facility, LNG plant and pipeline control and surveillance. “It was a great assignment”, according to Jennie. “An experience that involved travelling to other companies and site locations around the world.” The project symbolises the international nature of Jennie’s job. “Our clients and colleagues operate around the world and we work closely together with our Romanian office where a pool of engineers is located. That gives my work an international character. Working with so many different cultures is very exciting.”

Garry Emerton, Systems Engineer for Yokogawa South Africa, is with the company over 25 years. “I used to work for a company that ordered Yokogawa equipment. Once I got to know the company and its equipment, I got so attracted that I ended up as an employee. And even after 25 years it’s still satisfying every day.”

Yokogawa is present in South Africa for nearly 30 years and the office in Johannesburg employs about 100 colleagues. With a Yokogawa history of 25 years, Garry is one of the well-known faces behind the South African office. “I even started when Yokogawa was represented in South Africa by an agent. And even after 25 years it still is not boring.” As a Systems Engineer Garry Emerton works with Yokogawa’s different DCS systems. “It is interesting to see how a project gets started, how it develops and what we do to make the customer satisfied.”
“Yokogawa has a strong focus on innovation which means that the equipment is continuously evolving. That keeps you sharp because you always want to deliver the ultimate solution for your customer. In that respect Yokogawa has so much to offer. The equipment is of the highest quality which makes it good to work with. Not only for our customers but also for a systems engineer. I work with both new and existing DCS systems of customers here in South Africa as well as in countries in the region. And the market itself and the way things are done is never the same. That combination makes my job challenging and exciting.”

After completing an internship with a major chemical company, John Noren joined its process control group and learned complex batch applications. Nine years later, he joined Yokogawa as a senior application engineer specializing in batch applications, and has since grown with Yokogawa Corporation of America to manage DCS applications engineering.

“Yokogawa represents quality. The products are rock-solid and our mandate for engineering is to focus on understanding customer needs and delivering quality solutions. It is always more rewarding to have a satisfied customer. While it has been a challenge to grow as rapidly as we have experienced over the last few years, it has been tremendously exciting. We have a new office, enhanced engineering tools, and many new engineers joining our team. The future promises continued growth and an exciting time ahead within Yokogawa Systems.”

McNeil Caldwell began his career as a staff accountant after receiving a degree in accounting. He started with Yokogawa Corporation of America in 2004 as a general accounting analyst and is currently the disbursement and costing manager. He is a certified public accountant.

“My job allows me to do what I like best; analyzing and solving problems. The accomplishment I am most proud of is working on the tax savings project that legally entitled us to achieve a significant reduction of the property tax and contributing to the financial health of our organization.

Traveling to Japan and being exposed to the different multinational groups within our organization has given me exposure to other cultures and management philosophies that have enhanced my understanding of different management approaches and perspectives.”

Kathy Chu was born in Hong Kong and graduated from a UK university. After working for a semiconductor automation instrument company, she moved to Yokogawa in 2005 as a software engineer at the Singapore Development Center.

“I joined Yokogawa after reading in a Singapore newspaper that Yokogawa has decided to start up a new R&D center in Singapore and planned to recruit quality people. My first impression of Yokogawa is that the development in Yokogawa is very systematic. It follows the full development life-cycle and concentrates on the quality of its products, as they will be used in critical industries where safety is one of the most important issues.”

Lim Boon Choon joined Yokogawa in January this year as a vice president of Singapore Sales organization. Previously he worked for another company in the industrial automation filed.

“Yokogawa’s strengths are excellent service from a big work force dedicated to serving customers and its consensus building culture. By building teamwork and getting everybody to think more strategically, I hope to open up new and profitable business areas and contribute to Yokogawa’s global strategies in expanding business.”

After completing a bachelor degree in science and instrument technology, R. Surianarayanan joined an engineering company in India where he executed major projects in the oil and gas, chemical, and offshore industries. He joined Yokogawa in Singapore in 1997, realizing a dream to work for Yokogawa that he had since first learning of Yokogawa in college. He is a project manager in Engineering Operations.

“I am proud of being part of Yokogawa, which empowers its employees with immense freedom and responsibilities and gives them unwavering trust. Yokogawa’s culture combined with the exciting experience guarantee job satisfaction. Working with a global company is an enjoyable experience due to the daily challenges and opportunities coming from working with various multinational organizations, in various countries, and with people of different nationalities and cultures.”

Yeo Swee Huat worked for Yokogawa from 1986 to 1992. After 14 years with an industrial automation supplier in its paper and pulp business department, he rejoined Yokogawa in 2006 for a new challenge in which he could learn new skills and have greater opportunity for recognition. Presently, he is responsible for systems marketing activities, paper and pulp projects, and business development in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Brunei.

“The advantage of working in a global company like Yokogawa helps us to understand and respect the culture and people of other countries. It also helps us to enhance our global leadership competencies and improve our relationship with diverse colleagues. We can control our future to a very high degree and create our own success. We need strong teamwork and the ability to work together to make it happen.”

Akihiro Koseki has rich experience in the development of software for communications equipment including control software for digital camera data communications, and he has also helped develop operating systems for embedded devices. He wanted to explore the possibilities of working both on software and hardware. As Yokogawa offers such opportunities with its in-house development of measuring instruments, he joined the company in January 2007.

“At Yokogawa, I am developing common platform technology used in varied products. The platform should have features such as a user interface and filing system that are typically installed on measuring instruments. This contributes by accelerating product development time. So I am constantly meeting and discussing with software engineers as well as product development engineers. I am also excited with the opportunity to see manufacturing excellence at work. From software planning to design, development, testing, and actual production, everyone is dedicated to producing quality work by sharing knowledge and information. I really like this open and innovative environment.”

After working fourteen years on the development of control algorithms for a major heavy machinery company, Yoshihisa Ihara decided in January 2007 to apply for a project manager’s position at Yokogawa. During the interview with Yokogawa officers, he was impressed with the depth and width of their technology and business management knowledge, and decided that he wanted to work for a company that had such a management team.

“I am involved in a DCS project for the electric power utilities of chemical plants and oil refineries. My responsibility is to optimize management of project execution so as to deliver specific systems on time and at low cost to customers. The project team consists of sales personnel, sales engineers, DCS engineers, panel design engineers, start-up engineers, and procurement and order processing personnel as well as development engineers and quality assurance personnel. Coordinating project execution with experts in various technology fields is very tough. The job also requires complicated, technical decisions concerning profitability and performance. But by overcoming all challenges and completing a project, we can demonstrate a true team spirit and enjoy a sense of accomplishment.”