On April 24, I attended a ceremony to celebrate the completion of our Yokohama Works’ new welfare facility, Y-Y Terrace, for employees. Sumitomo Electric had implemented the construction project as part of commemorative events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Works’ founding.

　　Yokohama Works is located in a nature-rich environment in the southern part of the city of Yokohama. It is also conveniently situated near Kamakura, one of the most well-known tourist destinations in Japan. Its premises stretch along the Japan Railway Tokaido Line, covering an area approximately 17 times larger than that of Yokohama Stadium. Across the vast land are about 40,000 trees, including cherry, zelkova, azalea and ginkgo, presenting different vistas of scenic beauty for each season.

　　Yokohama Works was established in May 1961 as Sumitomo Electric’s first manufacturing base in the Kanto region in order to better serve our customers. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of its founding.

　　Today, Yokohama Works is a major manufacturing base for information and telecommunications products, including optical fiber cables, optical connectors, optical fiber fusion splicers, and optical and electronic devices. The facility also serves as a world-leading R&D base in this field.

　　The name of the facility, “Y-Y Terrace,” was chosen from entries from employees. “Y” is the first letter of Yokohama Works. The pronunciation “wai-wai” is a Japanese onomatopoeia used to describe lively action or sounds. The facility was named in the hope that it will be a place where employees can enjoy cozy discussions. On the first floor are a health service center, convenience store and multi-purpose room. On the second floor is a spacious cafeteria with seating capacity for 1,400 people, where employees can dine a la carte. With large windows, the cafeteria commands a splendid view of cherry trees outside. In spring, diners can enjoy cherry blossom viewing while eating.

　　Yokohama Works was founded as an innovative, modern plant that will serve as a pioneering model for other plants of Sumitomo Electric. The facility has since developed and produced the world’s most advanced optical fibers and devices and many other products. I hope that all members at Yokohama Works will work cheerfully and energetically to achieve further growth over the next 50 years.

　　On the premises of Yokohama Works, Sumitomo Electric has recently constructed a large-scale power generation/storage system, planning to start the demonstration in July. This system consists of in-house developed concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) units (maximum total power generation: 200 kW) and a redox flow battery (capacity: 5 MWh).

　　To meet society’s needs for efficient energy use, Sumitomo Electric continues its research and development of technologies for effective power conversion/control and generation/storage.

　　Reference: Press release on “Demonstrating Megawatt-Class Power Generation/Storage System at Yokohama Works”