Japan-U.S. Business Report articles from July 1998

Japan-U.S. Business Report archives from July 1998

Japanese Companies in the United States: CHEMICALS.
July 30, 1998... The world's largest trader of ethylene dichloride, MITSUI & CO., LTD., will have its own U.S. source of supply in the early part of 2000. The trading company has formed a 49 percent/51 percent joint venture with the Vulcan Chemicals group of...

Japanese Companies in the United States: COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS.
July 30, 1998... In another key endorsement of INTEL CORP.'s IA-64 architecture, FUJITSU, LTD. will build its next generation of high-performance servers around the 64-bit microprocessor known as Merced. This groundbreaking chip now is scheduled for commercial...

Japanese Companies in the United States: ELECTRIC MACHINERY.
July 30, 1998... In a deal that adds both new product lines and production facilities in new countries, AVX CORP. acquired for $75 million the international passive components business of France's THOMSON-CSF S.A. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina-headquartered AVX,...

Japanese Companies in the United States: FINANCIAL SERVICES.
July 30, 1998... In an arrangement designed to internationalize the Osaka Mercantile Exchange and to give the New York Mercantile Exchange a foothold in Japan, the two commodities futures exchanges will trade selected items that the other lists. Beginning in FY...

Japanese Companies in the United States: FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
July 30, 1998... Production of pasta has started at the MEDALLION FOODS INC. plant in Tacoma, Washington. The $25 million, state-of-the-art facility can make 72 tons of pasta a day, drawing on the 600 tons of durum semolina wheat flour that can be stored...

Japanese Companies in the United States: NONELECTRIC MACHINERY.
July 30, 1998... Japan's top producer of commercial air-conditioning systems has found a heavyweight partner to help it return to the American market after a decade-plus absence (see Japan-U.S. Business Report No. 342, March 1998, p. 5). DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD....

Japanese Companies in the United States: PAPER AND PULP.
July 30, 1998... One of Japan's biggest paper traders and distributors has moved into the American paper recycling market. JAPAN PULP & PAPER CO., LTD. paid an estimated $7.1 million to acquire SAFESHRED CO., INC., a City of Commerce, California company that...

Japanese Companies in the United States: PHOTO EQUIPMENT AND COPIERS.
July 30, 1998... Just months after buying INTERNATIONAL PAPER CO.'s graphics arts film, plate and paper operations (see Japan-U.S. Business Report No. 342, March 1998, p. 5), KODAK POLYCHROME GRAPHICS CO. announced plans to close one of the acquired facilities....

Japanese Companies in the United States: PRECISION AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
July 30, 1998... By coincidence, another Binghamton, New York company, surface-mount assembly equipment manufacturer UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS CORP., will continue to be able to draw on the expertise of SANYO HIGH TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. The two recently extended a...

Japanese Companies in the United States: SEMICONDUCTORS.
July 30, 1998... Most planned wafer fabrication facilities are on hold because of the slump in the worldwide semiconductor market, particularly the memory end of the business. Nonetheless, NEC CORP. announced that it could start construction of a 300-millimeter...

Japanese Companies in the United States: TELECOMMUNICATIONS.
July 30, 1998... Japanese businesses and individuals in the United States now have the option of using a transplanted provider of domestic long-distance and transpacific calling services. JAPAN TELECOM CO., LTD.'s New York City subsidiary is charging a flat 30...

Japanese Companies in the United States: TEXTILES AND APPAREL.
July 30, 1998... The Viscotec system for digitally printing fabrics using up to 16.7 million colors is coming to the United States in late 1999. Developer SEIREN CO., LTD. has earmarked $21.4 million for plant construction. A final decision apparently has not...

Japanese Companies in the United States: TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT.
July 30, 1998... The costs and the technical challenges of meeting the automotive industry's technology requirements are behind two development tie-ups between TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. and GENERAL MOTORS CORP. First, they will collaborate on an inductive charging...

Japanese Companies in the United States: MISCELLANEOUS.
July 30, 1998... Despite help from MITSUI & CO., LTD. and another company, Japanese auctioneer AUCNET INC. has not been able to make a profit from its U.S. business. Therefore, it is liquidating its Smyrna, Georgia subsidiary. Since 1994, it has sold used...

American Companies in Japan: CHEMICALS.
July 30, 1998... The S.C. Johnson Polymer division of S.C. JOHNSON COMMERCIAL MARKETS, INC. has licensed Asian Pacific rights to its SGO polymer technology to TOAGOSEI CO., LTD. Applications for the continuous bulk polymerization technique covered by the...

American Companies in Japan: ELECTRIC MACHINERY.
July 30, 1998... VICOR CORP., a maker of high-density power components, including AC/DC and DC/DC converters and complete power systems, has gained a presence in Japan. The Andover, Massachusetts company bought the major assets of JAPAN TOBACCO INC.'s...

American Companies in Japan: ENERGY RESOURCES.
July 30, 1998... To improve efficiency and cut costs, EXXON CORP.'s two subsidiaries are expected to start to merge headquarters functions later this year. ESSO SEKIYU K.K. and GENERAL SEKIYU K.K., over which Exxon gained operating control last August (see...

American Companies in Japan: FINANCIAL SERVICES.
July 30, 1998... A new benchmark has been established for the changes sweeping Japan's limping financial services sector and how American competitors are capitalizing on the openings. Financial services powerhouse TRAVELERS GROUP INC. will acquire a 25 percent...

American Companies in Japan: FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
July 30, 1998... Through an expenditure of $10.7 million, CARGILL INC. erected 12 freezer tanks at a site in Chiba prefecture to store frozen condensed orange juice imported from Brazil. From there, a fleet of tanker trucks will deliver juice directly to...

American Companies in Japan: MERCHANDISING.
July 30, 1998... Warehouse retailing is coming to Fukuoka prefecture. COSTCO COS. INC. will open its first membership warehouse club in Japan in April 1999 in an American-style suburban shopping center now being built. Like its American counterparts, the...

American Companies in Japan: METALS AND FABRICATED PRODUCTS.
July 30, 1998... In a move designed to strengthen its position as the world's top investment casting producer, HOWMET CORP. exercised its option to increase ownership of KOMATSU-HOWMET, LTD. to 81 percent from 50 percent. The joint venture with KOMATSU LTD. was...

American Companies in Japan: PHOTO EQUIPMENT AND COPIERS.
July 30, 1998... The rollout of new products by EASTMAN KODAK CO.'s subsidiary continues with the launch of a pair of zoom digital cameras in the Digital Science line. The CCD (charge-coupled device) sensor in the DC260 Zoom delivers a picture with a resolution...

American Companies in Japan: PRECISION AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
July 30, 1998... By next spring, the technology will be in place to authorize access to automatic teller machines and home security systems by identifying a person by his or her facial features. Developer EYEMATIC INTERFACES INC. licensed exclusive Asian rights...

American Companies in Japan: SEMICONDUCTORS.
July 30, 1998... TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC.'s decision to exit the volatile DRAM business and sell this part of its semiconductor operations to MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC. has collateral repercussions for KTI SEMICONDUCTOR, LTD., the eight-year-old Nishiwaki, Hyogo...

American Companies in Japan: SOFTWARE AND INFORMATION SERVICES.
July 30, 1998... Hoping to capitalize on Big Bang financial market changes and growing interest in all-things-Internet, ETRADE GROUP, INC. and SOFTBANK CORP. have launched a company to offer on-line investment services, including stock trading. The Palo Alto,...

American Companies in Japan: TELECOMMUNICATIONS.
July 30, 1998... To ensure that it remains ahead of the pack in wireless systems, MOTOROLA INC.'s Cellular Infrastructure Group is building a state-of-the-art R&D complex in Tokyo. The center's immediate job will be to develop systems and software for the trial...

American Companies in Japan: TEXTILES AND APPAREL.
July 30, 1998... Designer Vivienne Tam's fall/winter collection for young women will be available in 12 stores this year through SANEI INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD., a sublicensee of ITOCHU CORP. The trader acquired a master license to import, manufacture and...

American Companies in Japan: TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT.
July 30, 1998... Sales of HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.'s made-in-America natural gas-powered Civic sedans have started, two months after they were put on the U.S. market (see Japan-U.S. Business Report No. 344, May 1998, p. 9). However, the automotive manufacturer...

American Companies in Japan: MISCELLANEOUS.
July 30, 1998... An alternative to the standard ring-pull tab found on beverage cans could be available soon in Japan. BALL CORP. of Muncie, Indiana has licensed its Touch Top technology to CHUKYO IYAKUHIN CO., LTD. Known as a universal end, Touch Top has a...

Japanese Companies in the United States: CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE.
July 30, 1998... For a change, a Japanese company has made money on the sale of an American property acquired during the "bubble economy" years. NICHIEI CO., LTD. sold the Benjamin Franklin Plaza, a 19-story office building in downtown Portland, Oregon, to...

Japanese Companies in the United States: METALS AND FABRICATED PRODUCTS.
July 30, 1998... The ownership of one of the earliest Japanese-backed manufacturing operations in the United States is changing. TAMCO founders TOKYO STEEL MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. (25 percent) and AMERON INTERNATIONAL CORP. of Pasadena, California (50 percent)...

American Companies in Japan: COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS.
July 30, 1998... In a deal worth $15 million, EVANS & SUTHERLAND COMPUTER CORP. worked with HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD. on the design and construction of image generators for motorcycle training simulators and built and delivered visual systems for 300 simulators....

American Companies in Japan: NONELECTRIC MACHINERY.
July 30, 1998... The world leader in equipment for rapid product development, 3D SYSTEMS CORP., has tapped HITACHI ZOSEN INFORMATION SYSTEMS CORP. to sell, service and support the Actua 2100 3D printer. The Tokyo company brings considerable expertise to this...