Daikin Industries, Ltd. announces the establishment of the Technology and Innovation Center

Daikin Industries, Ltd. announces the establishment of the Technology and Innovation Center (floor area: approx. 58,000 m2; hereinafter referred to as "TIC") at its Yodogawa Plant (Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture). The facility is intended as a technology development base where air conditioning and chemical researchers work closely with product development engineers from various company divisions, and the disciplines of mechanical and chemical engineering are integrated with the fields of electrical and electronic engineering. Construction of the center begins in May 2011 at an investment cost of approximately 30 billion yen. Operation is scheduled to start from November 2014.

Because Daikin is rapidly expanding its worldwide presence in the fields of air conditioning and fluorochemicals centering on emerging markets, the ability to launch timely products to meet the specific needs of each regional market becomes the key for further growth of the company.

For this reason, clarifying priorities and roles for a wide-range of research and development themes becomes essential. Consequently, even as Daikin continues to strengthen the "local R&D function" that discerns and incorporates local needs, Daikin also recognizes the necessity to have one place (TIC) for concentrating on themes that have universal applications and greatly contribute to the overall global business, including core and common technologies, so that results can be quickly generated.

On this background emphasizing the development of core and common technologies along with maintaining base model products, the TIC will serve as the primary facility of the Daikin Group for promoting global technology development and achieving innovations through "development of global No. 1 environmental technologies," "surviving in the forthcoming decades," and "challenging destructive innovation of heat pump technology that has progressed for 100 years."

By concentrating approximately 1,000 R&D personnel (to increase to 1,600 employees in the future) from three bases in Japan (each production base of Sakai, Shiga, and Yodogawa), Daikin intends to promote information sharing and communication in order to widen the efficiency of and increase speed in the development of core technology such as heat pump, inverter, and fluorochemicals.

Furthermore, the TIC will function as a "training ground" for overseas engineers to learn shared values and ways of R&D of Daikin. It will also serve as a venue encouraging exchanges between fellow engineers from various fields inside and outside the company and promote "open innovation," which is generated from the fusion of new technology and knowledge, as Daikin sets its sights on realizing "collaborative creation" innovation.



[Special Characteristics of TIC]
The TIC employs a "knowledge flow structure" which circulates people, knowledge and information, and is comprised by three functional zones: "Theme Execution Zone," "Theme Creation Zone," and "Open Zone."

(1) Theme Execution Zone: describes a large stadium-like layered office space where 1,000 engineers can be seated and "testing rooms adjacent to the office that are visible by glass walls." This zone also provides test facilities with the world's highest standard.

The aim is to promote communication and collaboration among engineers by enabling openness of ongoing developments and minimizing the distance between the office and laboratory to accelerate optimum development speed.

(2) Theme Creation Zone: aims for innovative creation generated by engineers inspired by information from within and outside the company and becoming absorbed in discussions with engineers from other fields and outside specialists. For this purpose, the TIC provides various types of discussion rooms and rooms for invited outside specialists. By providing a good balance for communication between users, space for concentration of individual engineers, this zone offer a collaboration-suited environment that facilitates the creation of new research and development themes.

(3) Open zone: promotes open innovation with those outside the company with a "showroom" where exhibition of Daikin technologies offer solution ideas to various kinds of visitors (e.g customers and academic researchers), a "forest of knowledge" where exhibition of the latest technologies (e.g. in house prototypes and new outside products encourage engineers and researchers to discuss freely on technological trends.) , and a large hall where 1,600 engineers can assemble and be inspired by innovative ideas from presentation of outside specialists.


[Test facilities serving as the world's highest standard]
TIC aims for "world's highest technology development environment" by providing test facilities constructed to the highest global standard as core facilities for technology development."

"Air conditioning (VRV) testing tower with the altitude difference of 100m"
[To lead the world in air conditioning testing]
• Product reliability is expected to improve by reproducing actual installation conditions for air conditioning by having the highest tower in Japan to perform height differential testing for building type multi air conditioners (VRV).


The environment chamber capable of simulating various environments found in the regional markets (outside air temperatures ranging from -40ºC to +60ºC, sunlight, wind, rain, and similar conditions) and environment testing room that authentically reproduces the conditions of an actual residence. [World-leading]
• It is a major global facility for an air conditioner manufacturer. Testing with simulation of actual installation conditions of each regional market contributes to improved product reliability. Furthermore, Daikin will be able to promote actual verification and testing of renewed spatial value creation by enabling testing of an entire residence.

"An anechoic chamber where electromagnetic noise of indoor and outdoor units are measured at the same time in order to meet noise regulations of each regional market" [First in Japan]
• A double-deck turntable enables to measure noise levels of indoor and outdoor units at the same time, which leads to meet the needs of regional market.


END


[Summary of Technology and Innovation Center]
1) Facility Summary: Technology and Innovation Center
Floor area: approx 58,000m2 contained in a 5-story building constructed on site area of 50,000 m2
2) Facility Structure: office building, testing building, and general affairs building
3) Location: Settsu City, Osaka Prefecture (within existing Yodogawa Plant)
4) Purpose: To improve product development efficiency by centralizing the technology development function and create innovative products through technology fusion activities.
5) Opening schedule: November 2014
6) Investment: approx. 30 billion yen
Image Drawing