FURUKAWA ELECTRIC-INNOVATION AND CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY ARE PILLARS OF FURUKAWA ELECTRIC LATAM, A TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY WITH HEADQUARTERS IN CURITIBA.
Innovation is in the DNA of Furukawa Electric LatAm (FEL), which has been present in Brazil for 50-years and remains at the forefront of technology by offering connectivity solutions that anticipate market trends on a global level. An example of this is the launch of Rollable Ribbon technology, a new high-density cable capable of concentrating up to 6,912 optical fibers in the same space – a much higher capacity than existing products in the region, which carry around 288 fibers.
The company’s new product allows adaptability to new future technologies, with hyper connections. In parallel, the company also manufactures kits with “invisible” optical fiber, called “Invisilight” a fiber with a diameter of 1 mm to be installed inside homes and offices imperceptibly. All Furukawa innovations are produced in Brazil, in Curitiba.
The focus is on providing customers complete and modern telecommunications solutions, enabling Smart Cities to obtain analytical information in real time, connecting municipalities and optimizing processes, such as data integration and urbanization, among other benefits.
In addition to selling products and solutions, the company has adopted a new approach to the market, seeking to establish a two-way relationship with its customers and an in-depth understanding of their individual needs, adapting flexibly to meet each one’s needs precisely.
In line with its parent company in Japan, FEL adhered to Vision 2030 and adopted the slogan “Infrastructure for Life” in its operations. This vision represents the traditional cultural pillars inspired by the teachings of Ichibei Furukawa (Valuing employees, valuing customers, valuing new technologies and contributing to society) and the elements that the company considers its DNA (Health and Safety, Quality, Sustainability and Compliance).
SMARTS CITIES AND THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET
Smart Cities are the best way to develop urban centers, integrating governments, companies and society in the search for innovative solutions to solve the problems of urban mobility, housing, health, security, energy efficiency, among others. But this integration is only possible through new connectivity, which allows the integration of systems that generate information and analysis for better decision-making by public managers.
Furukawa Electric Latam offers its customers a network infrastructure capable of serving public administration, consolidating precise information for decision-making in a predictive, assertive and statistically based manner, improving the development of urban centers, transforming the daily lives of citizens and promoting the autonomy of cities in the near future.
HISTORY OF FURUKAWA ELECTRIC LATAM
Furukawa Electric LatAm has consolidated its presence as a global reference in the telecommunications segment over the last 50-years. During the period of accelerated economic growth in Brazil, between the late 1960s and mid-1970s, there was a phase of average annual economic growth of over 10%. As a result, in 1973, Kaiser Aluminum, an American multinational, started looking for a buyer for its plant in Lorena, in the interior of São Paulo, where it produced aluminum electrical cables.
Mitsui & Co. Brazil, the local branch of the Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, which used to supply steel wire to the unit, became aware of the opportunity and, given the importance of the cable business for the Japanese company, The Furukawa Electric Co. intermediated the acquisition. The deal was closed in March 1974 and the company was renamed Furukawa Industrial S/A Produtos Elétricos, or “FISA”, as it was known internally for many years until it was renamed Furukawa Electric LatAm.
The plant mainly produced aluminum cables for transmission lines of the ACSR (aluminum conductor steel-reinforced cable) and AAC (all aluminum conductor) types. There was a need to reinforce and expand the country’s electricity transmission network and, in parallel, there was a strong incentive to use domestically manufactured materials – a particularly promising situation for companies established in Brazil that had the technology and production capacity.
