Agilent plans US$8 million for R&D
By Zhang Di (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-04-04 14:01
Agilent Technologies Inc, which designs electronic and optical tests,
measurements, and monitoring instruments, will invest US$8 million this year in
research and development (R&D) in China.
"China surpassed Japan in
2004 to become Agilent's second largest market after the US," said Max Yang,
newly-appointed president of Agilent Greater China. "China is also Agilent's
fastest growing market."
The firm, also involved in life science and
chemical analysis, hopes to take part in dope testing during the Olympic Games
in Beijing in 2008. Another of its businesses is communications management and
test systems.
This year Agilent plans to add 100 people to the R&D
centre at its China Communications Operation (CCO) in Beijing, said Gail
Heck-Sweeney, general manager of the CCO.
Currently, Agilent has more
than 200 engineers in CCO, a figure expected to increase a lot more by 2008.
"One key reason (for more R&D investment) is we want to be closer to
our customers, as many manufacturing facilities and R&D organizations are in
China," said Heck-Sweeney.
She said another reason to spend more on
R&D was because China has well-trained engineers. A third reason was the
need to "keep up".
"In the 1990s, an US$200 million spent on R&D
investment, for example in semiconductors, could give a company an 18-month
lead, a technological lead in the industry," she said. "But, in 2000, that same
amount of investment might be behind the competition."
She said all
companies around the world are looking at ways to get "the right place at the
right price and at the right time" in the market.
With more Chinese
people speaking better English, an increasing number of global companies have
moved their R&D centres to China. In March, Unisys, a technology service
provider, set up an outsourcing centre in China, and pledged to pump US$100
million into it over the next five years.
Heck-Sweeney said
Agilent's CCO will do more to develop TD-SCDMA, China's home-grown third
generation mobile technology standard.
Agilent has worked on the standard
since 2002. Heck-Sweeney said the company is now capable of delivering a
complete solution from a base station to mobile phones.
Agilent's other
business sectors are also expanding in China.
Cheng Guanghui, marketing
manager of Agilent Technologies Shanghai, said: "Since 2000 revenue in China has
increased 10-fold."
He said China is the third largest market and one of
the fastest growing markets for Agilent in life science and chemical
analysis.
Huo Feng, general manager of Chengdu Instrument Division (CID),
said the first batch of products locally designed will come off the production
line this year.
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