Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that it has concluded an agreement with Degussa, a major chemical manufacturer in Germany, to be a global supplier of process control systems for plant automation. The Yokogawa products and services covered by this new agreement include CENTUM CS 3000 integrated production control system hardware / software.

Degussa is a multinational company that provides a wide variety of specialty chemicals. Major world-class chemical manufacturers have been facing the need for cost reductions due to the current trend toward market globalization and high-variety production. To meet such needs while maintaining quality at a high level, there is an increasing tendency among such manufacturers to move away from treating key equipment suppliers as mere vendors, opting instead for an approach whereby these suppliers are designated in advance and work closely as a business partner. It is this approach that Degussa is taking with the introduction of its process control systems. 

Teruyoshi Minaki, Director, Executive Vice President, Industrial Automation Business Headquarters, says, “Yokogawa has provided Degussa a total of 41 systems. Degussa has given an excellent rating to Yokogawa’s general competence in such areas as product reliability, technology and global support systems, and this has been a key factor in this German company’s choice of Yokogawa as a preferred supplier.”

“This partnership agreement will be an important step in the improvement of the process automation activities of Degussa,” stated Dr. Joachim Dutschke, Vice President of Technical Procurement. “Yokogawa’s contribution by providing highly efficient products and full support from its global organization to Degussa’s worldwide facilities is strongly anticipated.”

Yokogawa has already won similar contracts for control systems from leading international chemical, oil, pharmaceutical, and engineering companies. This latest success with Degussa is another proof that Yokogawa occupies a key position in the international market for control systems, and this is leading to a succession of contracts with other European-based chemical manufacturers.

About Degussa
Degussa is a multinational corporation consistently aligned to highly profitable   specialty chemistry. In fiscal 2003, its 47,000 employees generated sales of  €11.4 billion and operating profits (EBIT) of €878 million, making it Germany's third-largest chemical company and the global market leader in specialty  chemicals. Innovative products and system solutions enable Degussa to play a valuable and indispensable role in the success of its customers, as summed up by their claim "creating essentials."