Panasonic in China - From PM2.5 to Green Hotel Rooms and Welding Machines: Initiatives in the 35th Year and Onward

Beijing, China - The year 2014 marks Panasonic's 35th anniversary of business in China. In each and every country where Panasonic operates, it maintains a close connection with its respective local communities in planning and developing products. Emphasis has always been placed on picking up local market needs in order to contribute to those societies. As a result, Panasonic doesn't just sell products in China that you see at your local electronics stores. Its business has in fact reached out in many directions.

Here we look at the company's various initiatives, the diversity of which can be seen in the video below:

Panasonic's Diverse Evolution in China

A field of particular note in which Panasonic excels, in fact having China's top market share, is Factory Automation & Welding Machines. Providing machinery essential to production lines, Panasonic's products are playing important roles in factories across the nation.

In medicine, Panasonic has developed the 3D Remote Monitoring System, contributing to technological advancements together with Shanghai Tongji University Hospital. The system provides doctors with three-dimensional stereoscopic imagery when operating surgical equipment.

There's also the Cold Chain product line, targeted at supermarkets, convenience stores, and restaurant franchises. Panasonic's industrial freezers, refrigerators, and showcases allow 24/7 remote control and have excellent energy efficiency.

Global Environment and Personal Environments

A hotel in Beijing faced a challenge: how to save more power while keeping its brand image and customer satisfaction intact. Panasonic offered its novel Green System solution, with which hotel guests can monitor their own in-room energy usage and earn points for saving energy. These points can then be exchanged with free stays and room upgrades in group hotels.

Panasonic also focuses on personal living environments, with products such as air purifiers that give users a visual indication of the PM2.5 particle density and total heat exchangers that can capture over 95% of all PM2.5 particles, reining in CO2 emissions and energy consumptions at the same time.

These efforts have culminated in projects such as Dalian BEST-CITY. Panasonic is a proactive player in this ambitious project, which aims to rig an entire city plan with cutting edge technologies (key factors in creating what is also commonly termed a 'smart city'). To this end, Panasonic has offered Dalian BEST-CITY a range of solutions, including energy monitoring and reduction, air quality sensors, and security camera systems.

Panasonic also contributes to other smart city projects worldwide, such as those in India, Singapore, and Japan.

Local Bases Support Operations and Principles

Many of Panasonic's diverse businesses in China are done entirely in-country, from planning and manufacturing to sales. The aim is to create products that are truly relevant to the local people.

Exemplifying this philosophy is Panasonic's China Lifestyle Research Center in Shanghai. Tasked with getting an account of regional particularities and local voices and lifestyles, the staff at the institute actually visit customers day to day. The feedback is then taken to the company's Design Center, also in Shanghai. This flow ensures that real feedback is quickly reflected in product planning and design. (Panasonic also has similar institutes in India, Brazil, Germany, and Vietnam.)

Also indispensable to Panasonic's business in China are its industrial complex in Hangzhou, manufacturing plants in Guangzhou and Wuxi, and R&D Centers in five cities, including Beijing. These local bases share strong relationships with their respective local communities, which is the result of 35 years of operations in China. These are what allow Panasonic to drive technological and business development across China to help create a better future.

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