Tokyo, Japan, is the Newest Global Location for the Middletown, RI-Based Technology Company.
KVH Industries, Inc., (Nasdaq:KVHI) has opened an office in Tokyo to further strengthen KVH's position in the market and to provide additional support to its Japanese partners. The opening of the KVH Industries Japan Co., Ltd., office reflects the growing market in Japan for KVH's maritime satellite communications solutions, which include the mini-VSAT Broadband(SM) service -- the world's leading maritime VSAT choice -- and the award-winning TracPhone(R) satellite communications systems.
KVH Industries' Japanese partners include SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation, which provides the mini-VSAT Broadband service under the OceanBB brand name, as well as Furuno Electric Co., Ltd., and Japan Radio Co. Ltd., which provide and install KVH TracPhone communications systems.
The company is also pleased to name Mr. Yoshito Yamane as the Country Manager and Representative Director for KVH Industries Japan Co., Ltd. Mr. Yamane has collaborated with KVH Industries for the past three years as a sales consultant, developing relationships with KVH Industries' Japanese partners. Mr. Yamane's prior work experience includes directing Stratecht Inc., a communications technology firm specializing in improving vessel operational efficiencies, performing IT planning and management for Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, and doing computer software product management for Microsoft Corporation. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Washington.
"We are extremely excited about opening our KVH Japan office, which represents a significant step forward in enabling further market penetration for our services and products in Japan," said Brent C. Bruun, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development at KVH Industries. "We are particularly pleased to have Mr. Yoshito Yamane as our Japanese country manager. He has vast experience in the maritime industry and is extremely knowledgeable about KVH products, services, and technology."
KVH Industries' business interests in the region have grown steadily in recent years. Since 2009, KVH Industries has provided mini-VSAT Broadband service coverage in Asia Pacific waters and in the Indian Ocean through a satellite-capacity leasing arrangement with SKY Perfect JSAT.
In 2011, MOL LNG Transport Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, one of Japan's leading shipping companies, signed a contract to add KVH's award-winning TracPhone V7 satellite communications systems to selected LNG tankers. The systems use KVH's global mini-VSAT Broadband service under the OceanBB brand name.
In 2012, following extensive onboard tests of maritime communications systems, Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK Line), the largest shipping company in Japan, chose KVH's TracPhone V7 satellite communications systems and mini-VSAT Broadband service, under the OceanBB brand name, for selected containerships. NYK's fleet includes containerships, Pure Car Truck Carriers (PCTCs), dry bulk carriers, crude oil tankers, and LNG tankers, more than 100 of which will be equipped with broadband service to support NYK's IBIS (Innovative Bunker and Idle-time Saving) project with real-time communications between ships and staff on shore.
Japan's maritime shipping industry has experienced a boom in recent years due to improved shipping rates and increased demand for goods throughout Asia. Japan ranks second in the world in the amount of deadweight tonnage it controls as a percentage of the world's fleet, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's "Review of Maritime Transport 2011." In addition, Tokyo is one of the world's busiest ports for container traffic. KVH Industries also has offices in other centers of the global commercial maritime industry, including Singapore, Denmark, and Norway.