Keyence

Infobox_Company
company_name = Keyence Corporation
株式会社キーエンス
company_
company_type = Public tyo|6861
company_slogan =
foundation = May 27, 1974
location = Osaka, Japan
key_people = Takemitsu Takizaki, Chairman
Michio Sasaki, President
industry = Electronics
num_employees = 2,850 (2007) [http://www.keyence.co.jp/company/profile/index.html プロフィール ： 株式会社キーエンス ] ]
products = FA sensors, opto-electronic equipment and related systems
revenue = 200,666 billion. ¥ (2006) [http://www.keyence.co.jp/company/result/index.html 経営情報 ： 株式会社キーエンス ] ]
homepage = [http://www.keyence.com/ KEYENCE Global Home] nihongo|Keyence Corporation|株式会社キーエンス|Kabushiki-gaisha Kīensu (tyo|6861) is a company which produces sensors, barcode readers, vision systems and measuring equipment.

Global

Keyence Corporation is a global company with a network of 16 international organizations that specializes in factory automation. Founded in Japan in 1974, Keyence Corporation now earns over 2 billion dollars in yearly sales and employs nearly 3000 employees worldwide.

Direct Sales

Keyence is a direct sales company; every Keyence salesperson enrolls in a 6 month training program to learn the products and practice solution-based sales. [http://books.google.com/books?id=zlXzL0L1cY4C&pg=PA190&lpg=PA190&dq=TAKIZAKI+Keyence&source=web&ots=gYEXr8XqYa&sig=RkmTlZ6chhkuwwKDUp-ev6kdRH0&hl=en#PPA190,M1] Salespeople do not manage distributors. Instead, they go directly to customers with a demonstration case specifically built to solve applications on-the-spot.

Keyence's sensors, vision systems, and high definition microscopes are part of the manufacturing and research processes in a variety of industries, including the electronic, semiconductor, automotive, food and packaging, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries. [ [http://www.thomasnet.com/profile/1000723/keyence-corporation-of-america.html Keyence Corp. of America Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey ] ] Keyence's customers include companies ranging from the largest Fortune 500 manufacturers to niche suppliers whose goal is to improve the quality and efficiency of their automated manufacturing.

=Trivia=
*Keyence was named one of "BusinessWeek"'s “1000 Best Valued Companies.”
*Keyence Japan is consistently listed in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun's yearly ranking of the "Top Ten Most Excellent Companies in Japan." Keyence is known as one of the best "pay" companies in Japan. The average annual wage for all full-time employees (average age: 31.9 years old) in FY2006 was JPY13,860,000 (US$117,348 as of March 2007). [ [http://www.keyence.co.jp/jobs/career/guide/index.html 株式会社キーエンス 採用基本情報 募集要項・待遇] ]
*A 350-million-year-old ammonite fossil is displayed at the entrance of the Japanese headquarters; other fossils of long-dead creatures align the corridors and meeting rooms. Relics are supposed to convey a tacit message to employees: keep aiming high or you'll become a fossil. [http://www.forbes.com/global/2006/0109/022A.html Keeping The Seats Warm - Forbes.com ] ]
*Takemitsu Takizaki founded Keyence Corporation in 1974 under the original name of "Lead Electric."
*Takizaki is listed as the 428th richest person in the world in 2008 by Forbes with a net worth of US$2.7 billion. [ [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Takemitsu-Takizaki_YXW8.html The World's Billionaires #428 Takemitsu Takizaki] ]
*Keyence is fabless (fabrication-less): Although Keyence is a manufacturer; it specializes solely in product planning and development and does not manufacture the final products. Keyence products are manufactured at qualified contract manufacturing companies.
*Stephen Way, Senior Vice-President and Global Portfolio Manager at AGF Funds Inc.: "Keyence has a proven ability to deliver innovative products that customers want and this is driving strong pricing and profitability." [Financial Post. http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=9f51046f-191b-4398-8eca-e976aa30a4d1&k=95175]
* The Financial Times: “Keyence means little to most people; to engineers, however, they mean a great deal.” [Financial Times. http://search.ft.com/nonFtArticle?id=050207007039]

Products

Keyence manufactures a broad range of products, from photoelectric and proximity sensors to measuring instruments for inspection lines to high precision microscopy devices used in research institutes. These products are used by more than 80,000 customers globally.

Products are shipped from Keyence's stocking network centers in Japan, U.S. (Chicago), the U.K., Germany, France, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea or from 148 agents in 31 countries on the same day of receipt of an order. All products in the catalog are, etc normally in stock.

Automation and Sensing

Keyence's customers in a variety of industries and manufacturing environments use their sensor products to detect the presence or absence of an entire part or just a particular feature of that part. Measurement products are used to determine the size or magnitude of a particular part or feature with great accuracy. As more and more factories seek to remain competitive by automating their processes, the market for the sensors and measurement products is huge and growing. New product releases consistently account for 30% of Keyence's annual sales. [ [http://business.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/eng/20070402/122203/ Corporate Analysis: Keyence Corp (Top Article from NBonline)：NBonline(日経ビジネス オンライン) ] ]
*Fiber Optic Sensors (FS Series)
*Photoelectric Sensors (PX Series)
*Laser Displacement Sensor (LK Series)
*Safety Light Curtain (SL Series)

Vision & Marking

Vision system products are camera systems used on production lines to differentiate and measure multiple product features. Keyence's customers use their camera systems to perform quality control inspections that are too complicated for ordinary sensors. Their laser marking instruments use a high intensity laser to permanently and accurately mark shapes or characters onto surfaces such as metals or plastics at high speeds.

*Machine Vision (CV Series)
*Laser Marker (ML Series)
*Laser Marker (MD Series)

Advanced Microscopes

Microscopes are the only products offered by Keyence America for use away from a production line. While many of the customers for their microscopes are manufacturers, these microscopes are more typically used for research and development or failure analysis applications. Keyence's digital microscopes are capable of displaying a 3D image of the target. The image can also be manipulated or used to make a measurement of the target feature being viewed. Their color laser scanning microscope offers high accuracy with the use of a violet laser. This laser microscope approaches the accuracy and resolution of an SEM microscope at a lower cost and without destroying the target.

*Digital Microscope (VHX Series)
*Laser Microscope (VK Series)

References

External links

* [http://www.keyence.com/ Keyence Global Home] en icon
* [http://www.keyence.co.jp/ Keyence Corporation] ja icon