JSMEA To Debut Zohaku Web
The Japanese Marine Equipment Association (JSMEA) and its constituents will again be demonstrating what they dub the most advanced and sophisticated technologies developed in Japan at SMM. During the exhibition, the Ship & Ocean Foundation (SOF) will present the concept of the Zohaku Web, a new system which was designed and created to enable the exchange of technical information between shipyards and marine equipment suppliers via Internet websites. The three-year project was carried out by SOF with grants from the Nippon Foundation since 1998. The project has attracted 100 organizations in Japan (current participants include 21 shipbuilders and 71 ship equipment manufacturers) and has quickly become a major product in the Japanese maritime market.
Japan: Advanced procedures sustain industry in turbulent markets
Japan retains its perch atop the world commercial shipbuilding heap, although its position grows increasingly precarious with the continued emphasis on shipbuilding market share by its Korean competitors, and the emergence of low-cost, hungry start-ups in China and the former Eastern bloc nations. The challenges facing the Japanese shipbuilders and ship equipment suppliers are not unlike those faced by its European counterparts during much of the past decade. While Japan's strong suit continues to be its ability to mass produce tankers and bulk carriers in a very efficient and profitable manner, its technical prowess and continually refined manufacturing procedures can only take it so far in what continues to be a labor intensive process.
