Set to become the new hub of its Process & Environmental business
HORIBA Instruments Incorporated, a subsidiary of HORIBA Ltd, has started operations at its new Houston Office for the Process & Environmental (P&E) Business on April 1st, 2017. The new office houses design, production, sales as well as service departments and therefore takes over as the hub of HORIBA’s P&E Business in the USA. As the heartland of America’s petrochemical industry, Houston is the perfect location for HORIBA to respond to the increasing demands of customers, especially in the shale gas and oil industry, by increasing production capacity as well as improving efficiency. In addition to the P&E business, the office will provide sales and support for scientific measuring devices.
Business outline
HORIBA’s acquisition of Cameron’s process measurement equipment business in 2013 forms the background to the company’s expanded operations in the P&E business. Through the acquisition, HORIBA was able to expand its business to include measurement devices for production process including ethylene purification. The technology possessed by Cameron in measuring equipment and its maintenance service for petrochemical refining were combined with HORIBA’s existing technology in explosion proof measurement devices. This allows HORIBA today to create systems to provide total solutions to their customers. In particular, the lowering oil prices have increased demand for petrochemical products, leading to an opportunity for HORIBA to develop its business further. As the petrochemical industry is part of HORIBA’s core business in the USA, through pro-active expansion and investment such as the Houston facility, the company believes it can increase productivity and sales.
About the petrochemical manufacturing process
The petrochemical manufacturing process is as follows: Mining -> Liquification・Separation -> Transportation -> Storage -> Purification -> Analysis -> Manufacturing. One of the chief aims of HORIBA is to provide systems to the customer that will assist with measurement in every part of this process, which it has demonstrated through products such as the “Analyzer House” – a shelter unit combining sampling and analysis.
The new office features several unique aspects as summarized below:
- Large Space
Spanning 2,926 square meters, the office features an extensive space allowing for large-sized facilities and equipment such as an Analyzer House and Emission Analyzer.
- Laboratories for the Scientific business
Featuring support for extensive experiments ranging from demonstrations to sampling.
- Training Room
The training room will be used for training customers as well as education for employees regarding product usage and maintenance.
- Open Office
Design, production, sales as well as the service department are all combined into one floor, allowing for enhanced communication in an open environment in order to improve work efficiency.
Dan Horiba, President of HORIBA Instruments Incorporated, commented:
“we are very excited to be opening our new facility in Houston, as we believe that it is an ideal location for our process business. Starting with ethylene purification and covering a wide area of petrochemistry, Houston is truly the heartland of America’s petrochemical industry, with related factories and companies around. Ever since the acquisition of Cameron process measurement equipment business in 2013, we have been moving rapidly towards systemization in our measuring devices in an effort to provide comprehensive solutions. This move symbolizes our commitment to the P&E business, and we believe our new office not only will allow us to increase our production capability, but also respond more effectively to our customers. We are confident that this move will be contributing in hitting our global sales target of 25 billion yen (which at the March 31st rate equals approximately 223.4 million US$) in the P&E business.”
Houston Office Details
| Name | HORIBA Instruments Incorporated Houston Office |
| Location | 5390 Bay Oaks Drive, Pasadena, TX 77505 |
| Construction | October 2016 to March 31st, 2017 |
| Operational | April 1st, 2017 |
| Facilities | Factory / Training Room / Office |
| Staff | 51 (HORIBA Instruments Incorporated: 708) |
Key Products
Stack Gas Analyzer ENDA-7000 series
Water Quality Measurement H-1 Series
X-ray Fluorescence Sulfur-in-Oil Analyzer SLFA series
