TOKYO, May 30, 2016 - Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that it will commence operation of its new training center "SOLAÉ place" on June 1. The center will be located at its Inazawa Works in Japan, the center of Mitsubishi Electric's building-systems development and manufacturing activities. The center has been established to strengthen human resource development as the company further globalizes the sales, manufacturing, installation and maintenance functions of its building-systems business, including elevators and escalators.

New training center

New training center

A spiral escalator at new training center's entrance

A spiral escalator at new training center's entrance

The center will have several training rooms equipped with advanced IT systems, allowing diverse training scenarios. It will be used by personnel from throughout the Mitsubishi Electric group and its affiliates in Japan and abroad, from new hires to mid-career employees. The objective is to deepen their understanding of the company's business policy of "safety and quality as top priority," a key management principle of its building systems business. Training will be provided mainly for development and manufacturing staff. Training for senior executives will also be offered.

The new center will support Mitsubishi Electric's existing global training network. Japanese expatriates based outside Japan and local staffers at overseas affiliates will be among those using the center for training, helping to equip group-wide employees with superior knowledge and skills that can be leveraged to further strengthen Mitsubishi Electric's position as the world's top brand for elevators and escalators.

Mitsubishi Electric is upgrading its building systems business to maximize the safety and usability of its products and services worldwide. To achieve its fiscal 2020 consolidated sales target of 720 billion yen, 50 percent of which is to be generated outside Japan, the company aims to capture demand for new installations overseas and accelerate its elevator and escalator renewal business in Japan. As part of its drive to achieve these objectives, Mitsubishi Electric is establishing training facilities in each of its overseas bases, in order to align and enhance the business operations of its domestic and overseas affiliates and strengthen the development of its human resources.

Details of New Training Center
Name SOLAÉ place
Location 1 Hishi-machi, Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
(the premises of Mitsubishi Electric's Inazawa Works)
Building area 1,083 square meters (total floor area: 2,764 square meters)
Structure Steel construction (3 stories)
Investment 1.34 billion yen
Main facilities Large hall, also separable into four 48-person rooms
Six training rooms (13 to 18 persons)
Six guest rooms (8 to 40 persons)
One study room equipped with PCs (40 persons)
One spiral escalator

Origin of the name "SOLAÉ Place"

The name SOLAÉ comes from a testing tower "SOLAÉ" established in the Inazawa Works in 2007 (173 meters in height). The Japanese pronunciation "SORA-E" means "to the sky" in Japanese, and Mitsubishi Electric's pursuit of higher quality is therefore infused into this name. Mitsubishi Electric added "Place" after the French word "Place" ("public square" in English), aiming for this to become an environment where its customers and employees can meet together. It is also similar to the word "Plus," expressing its aim to enhance the value of the SOLAÉ testing tower and showroom and to add knowledge and skills to drive further growth of the parent factory.

About Inazawa Works

Since its establishment in 1964, Mitsubishi Electric's Inazawa Works has operated as a dedicated facility for manufacturing elevators and escalators, and developing related technologies. Over the years, it has established a strong reputation for products that deliver safety and peace of mind, as well as high performance and quality. The number of elevators and escalators manufactured by the factory has since surpassed 450,000 units in total, and the company has supplied to customers in over 90 countries. In 1982, the factory started developing and manufacturing products for building management systems, such as access control systems. The Inazawa Works continues to evolve as the parent factory of all related production facilities in Mitsubishi Electric's global network.

Note that the releases are accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change without notice.