Omron expects 30% of revenue from China in six years ($1=109.89 Yen)

SEPTEMBER 24--Omron Corp. (Japan; www.omron.com), a factory-systems and electronic-parts maker, expects its China operations to account for 30% of revenue in six years, up from an estimated 8% this business year, a senior executive said. "In order for us to reach our total sales target of 1 trillion yen ($9.1 billion) in the 2010/2011 April-March business year, we'll need China to contribute 30%," said Yasuhira Minagawa, president of Omron's China business, at the Reuters Asia Technology Summit on Tuesday. Omron's industrial automation business will account for about 40% of its projected sales of about 615 billion yen in the current business year to next March, Minagawa added.

Omron announced plans earlier this year to invest about 30 billion yen over the next three years in China to boost production and sales. Omron is targeting the consumer-appliance, telecom-equipment, and automotive sectors for growth in China, selling its wares to global manufacturers setting up assembly lines in the country. Omron's competitors in that sector include Siemens AG, Rockwell Automation Inc., Matsushita Electric Works, and Keyence.

Omron, founded in 1933 as a maker of timers for x-ray machines, makes high-tech products ranging from electronic card keys and massage chairs to automated passenger gates at rail stations. A global manufacturing rebound is driving demand for Omron's sensors, used to detect minuscule production flaws. Its electronic components business, which includes flash units for digital cameras, is expanding with a boom in sales of consumer gadgets.