Japanese collaboration will provide integrated networks for building energy control
Oki Electric Industry Co and Takasago Thermal Engineering Co. have announced their agreement to form an alliance in information and telecommunication equipment. The two companies will jointly provide solutions to the building equipment market in Japan, which is advancing and becoming more diverse.
By converging OKI's strengths in VoIP (Voice over IP) and Takasago Thermal Engineering technologies in controlling building energy, the two companies will enable energy-saving advanced building energy control solutions as well as provide a wide range of convenient services such as developing communication systems, enhancing security through video surveillance and when entering and leaving the building, and controlling building equipment from IP phones and PCs.
"OKI is delighted to collaborate with Takasago Thermal Engineering as we can provide more convenient, ‘user-friendly yet energy-saving' building equipment combining our technologies," said Katsumasa Shinozuka, CEO of Oki Electric Industry. "By leveraging our strength in VoIP and applying information and telecommunication technologies to building equipment, the equipment itself can conduct activities such as controlling, monitoring, protecting and inspecting as well as provide Ubiquitous Services to individuals by responding to their needs."
As information and communication technologies become advanced and NGN (Next Generation Network) expands full-scale, there will be increased demand building equipment that integrates communication networks, such as IP telephony, LAN and wireless, with energy controls for air conditioning and lights. The two companies will provide these solutions to building owners, architectural offices, and general contractors when equipment is being renewed. The companies aim to achieve sales of 15 billion yen by the fiscal year ending March 2010.
"As part of our three-year business plan that ends this fiscal year, we have been working to expand conventional instrumentation work for ventilation equipment as well as enhance monitoring and control systems by adapting highly-developed information and telecommunication technologies," said Eiichi Ishida, President at Takasago Thermal Engineering. "OKI was the perfect company as we have been looking to partner with a company who had both a strong track record and advanced technologies in information and telecommunication."
