In little more than a decade, Yokogawa Middle East (YME) has established itself as one of the fastest growing and leading providers of totally automated advanced process instrumentation and control systems in the region.

When YME established its operational base in Bahrain as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric Corporation of Japan in 1990 the company began with a staff of four people. 
Today, YME has dramatically expanded its regional presence with annual turnover of $25 million and employs a total of 80 people maintaining six regional offices and nine representative offices from its Bahrain headquarters.
Since its establishment in 1915, Yokogawa Electric Company has pioneered the development of leading edge technologies in measurement, control and information.
Automated instrumentation still continues to be a specialist core business for Yokogawa through its 19,000 staff employed operating in 28 countries and through 112 worldwide affiliates.
The company is widely recognised for its innovative approach to plant solutions and acknowledged as a leader in automated process control. To maintain its technological leadership, the company spends a high percentage of its annual turnover, more than eight per cent, on research and development.
In Bahrain, YME recently obtained the certification for ISO 9001 2000 and its corporate culture of good citizenship has transferred well to the Arab world.
Within the region there are now 162 separate installations of which 62 installations have been fully engineered and executed by YME.  
 YME places great emphasis on sales, technical services and training. This includes feasibility studies and consultation services, project management, systems engineering and configuration, site support including installation and commissioning, maintenance programmes including remote maintenance support and training.
According to Kazuhiro Makishima, managing director of YME, the opening of its new 2,600 sq metre regional headquarters in Busaiteen, close to Bahrain International Airport, represents the pivotal role that Bahrain is playing in the company's development.
''For YME this is a very active market and although it represents only a small part of our global business we are proud of our record in this region. As well as the proven and reliable technology, having a local presence allows us to deliver direct support to our clients. In addition, we can find the technical skills we need locally and have more than 48 per cent Bahraini nationals in our workforce.
''Our regional office is very good for developing our lifetime service relations with clients.
''It is important to develop local resources and this is something YME takes seriously. Our business is growing and this year we expect to recruit more to support our existing and new business,'' concludes Makishima.