Yokogawa launches Africa User Conference
Yokogawa is excited to announce that its Africa User Conference will take place from 19-21 October. This event offers a unique and exciting opportunity to learn more about Yokogawa’s solutions and how they can assist in achieving safe, reliable, and profitable operations. Yokogawa users will share their knowledge and valuable experiences in solving automation challenges across various industries including oil and gas, chemical, mining and metals, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper and power.
“With the current economic conditions prevailing, we believe that all our customers are seeking ways to increase efficiencies and lower operating costs, while maintaining a high standard of quality. The Africa User Conference will showcase proven methods to achieve this through the use of Yokogawa products and employing Yokogawa solutions,” explains Vinesh Maharaj, sales and marketing director for the company. “Additionally, we have decided to make it an African event as the sub-Saharan African market is one of the most important markets in Yokogawa’s global business plan towards becoming the worldwide market leader in the industrial automation and control industry”. Users from Nigeria, Kenya, The Ivory Coast, DRC, Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Malawi, Swaziland, South Africa and Madagascar, amongst others, are expected to attend.
Presented over three days, delegates will learn about industry best practices and understand the latest advances in Yokogawa products and solutions while interacting with the company’s subject matter experts and networking with fellow users. An exciting highlight will be the addition of practical workshops with the opportunity to earn CPD points for registered engineering professionals. Various Yokogawa business partners and suppliers will also be onsite to present their offerings to the audience.
“Our aim is to create an environment of learning and networking for our customers, end users, business partners and experts, with the purpose of achieving sustainable solutions,” says Johan Louw, managing director of Yokogawa South Africa. The first afternoon will focus on Yokogawa’s future technology and business outlook, strategies and total solutions with the hope of attracting some of South Africa’s top business COOs, managing directors, technology officers and ICT managers. The following two days will be more technical in content concentrating on user experiences, product launches, technology key notes and renowned personalities from industry. “There will be something for everyone this year,” adds Louw.
Gemba Kaizen will be the theme for the 2016 event. “Gemba” and “Kaizen” are Japanese words with the former meaning “real place” and the latter meaning “improvement” or “change for the better.” Kaizen practices focus on continuous improvement in specific business areas like manufacturing, business processes, management and engineering.
Combining the two words in the business context means that Gemba is where the real, value-adding activities of improvement take place. Yokogawa believes this is indicative of the current state of the company – always striving for continuous improvement. Yokogawa is committed to developing and supplying solutions and services with optimum quality and reliability thereby contributing to industrial growth in Africa.
The event will be held at the Fairway Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort situated on the Randpark Golf Course. Registrations open in March with early bird discounts available.
