Intellectual Navigation, International Reach

What are the businesses and organizations that matter the most to us? Certainly, we value those that provide us with necessary goods and services such as health care and automobiles. But what about that which stands less tangible but just as necessary, and perhaps more lasting? Today’s blog post circles around the outreach operations headed by Rabbi Leib Tropper.

Rabbi Leib Tropper, a lifelong researcher and community leader, currently employs his talents in Israel as the head of the project Character First. Endorsed by Moshe Hollender and Binyamen Greenberg, as well as many others, Character First emphasizes the deep import of strong morals as indicated by the Torah. In his involvement with the group, Tropper offers the community tools to navigate modern life and regularly publishes articles. His pieces include both heavy research and intelligent consideration, thereby stimulating discussions and positive change.

Prior to his engagement with Character First, Rabbi Tropper founded the multi-national organization Horizons. The group, which invited those curious about the teachings of the Torah to interact with the text and the community guided by it, saw success in Paris, London, Berlin, and throughout the U.S. The appearances offered a look into the culture and an introduction the language and spiritual currency to those who might not otherwise gain the opportunity.

Rabbi Leib Tropper comes from a long line of community leaders including his

father, a teacher at the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Elementary School for three decades. Tropper attended the school in lower Manhattan until the age of 12 and subsequently continued his education in Israel.

Secom Co. Ltd.: Pioneer in Man-Machine Security

Secom Co., Ltd. is Japan’s biggest security company. When the company was established in 1962, it was the first private security company in Japan.

In 1964, Secom combines security personnel with high-tech security gadgets and pioneered what is now known throughout the world as man-machine security philosophy. Since then, Secom has seen tremendous worldwide expansion. Currently, Secom operates in 12 countries.

Among Secom’s best security products and services are as follows:

• Electronic alarm system that monitors and responds to emergencies 24/7;
• CCTV surveillance systems with remote or local monitoring capabilities;
• Biometrics and proximity technologies that can accommodate both centralized and decentralized controls;
• Security personnel through  its security guard services;
• Personnel and equipment that can detect sensitive materials such as explosives and narcotics.

Among the top and secured clients of Secom are shopping malls, estate residences, multinational offices, warehouses, factories, a few nuclear power generation facilities and three Japanese international airports.

Fanuc Corporation: Next Generation Robotics and Automation

Fanuc Corporation is a Japanese company that manufactures electromechanical robotics. It is one of the biggest industrial robots manufacturers in the world. Fanuc is a member of the Furukawa Group. The company started as part of Fujitsu. It develops numerical control (NC) systems.

Fanuc is the acronym for Factory Automatic Numerical Control. Fujitsu’s Computing Control Division became an independent segment when FANUC Ltd. was created in 1972.

Fanuc supplies robotics to many of the largest automobile and electronic companies in Japan and the US. This made Fanuc as arguably the Japanese company that is instrumental in building Japan’s image as a supplier of quality and precision equipment. Companies such as Panasonic located in Amagasaki was able to produce 2 million TV sets in one month, most of them plasma LCD screen including the 103-inch TV, with only 25 workers manning industrial robotics.

Aside from electronics, Fanuc has been instrumental in providing servo motor and laser products used in factory automation. Among the largest companies in the automotive industry that has benefited in Fanuc’s technologies are Volkswagen, Peugeot Citroën, Ford and General Motors.  Majority of Fanuc’s sales are contributed by the Asia Pacific markets. Half of the company’s revenues come from Japanese markets.

At the center of Fanuc’s core business is research and development. The company understands the need to produce products that are intelligent, precise, functional and reliable. That can only be possible through in-depth research and development. So Fanuc has commissioned one third of its employees, most of them are young and idealistic researchers, to research and develop the leading-edge products.

Around the world, Fanuc has a number of subsidiaries, sales offices and joint ventures in 22 countries, making Fanuc as one of the biggest manufacturers of CNC controls in the world, in terms of market share.

Fanuc is based in Yamanashi Perfecture, Japan. Its shares are traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Estée Lauder Companies Inc.: Producing Cosmetics for Men and Women

Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a producer and seller of skincare, fragrance, makeup and hair care products. This Manhattan-based company started in 1946 when spouses Joseph and Estée Lauder started producing cosmetics. The company started with just four products: Super-Rich All Purpose Crème, Cleansing Oil, Crème Pack, and Skin Lotion.

Fifteen years after the founding of the company, it started to expand to other markets in the United States. In 1960, Estée Lauder started their first international store; in a London department store named Harrods. A year after, Estée Lauder started selling in Hong Kong.

Estée Lauder received several commendations for her innovations. She was named as one of the ten Outstanding Women in Business in 1967. The Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine also awarded her the Spirit of Achievement Award in 1968.

In that same year, Estée Lauder launched the Clinique brand. Clinique is the first dermatologist guided and allergy tested cosmetic brand. It is also the first brand of women’s cosmetics to introduce a line for male. In 1976, the company launched the “Skin Supplies for Men”.

China Oilfield Services Ltd.: Always Do Better

China Oilfield Services Ltd. (COSL) leads the world in providing integrated oilfield services outside the Chinese market. COSL’s integrated services include oil explorations, development and production. The company has four core businesses, namely geophysical services, well services, drilling services and marine support.

The company’s H shares are traded publicly on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. In the US, COSL shares are traded as Level 1 unlisted American Depositary Receipts. The company’s A shares are traded on the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Overseas, COSL’s revenues have a steady growth rate of 133% per year. Annual net profit growth rate is reported at 22.7%.  Fifteen percent of the company’s capital expenditures are spent on explorations, 35% to development and the remaining 50% to production. Greater demands are constantly coming in from the markets in the Middle East, West Africa and Indonesia.

COSL’s fleet of offshore oilfield facilities outside China is one of the largest in the world. In China, COSL operates 34 drilling rigs. Twenty seven of these rigs are jack up drilling rigs, 2 semi-submersible drilling rigs, 4 module rigs, 2 accommodation rigs and 8 land drilling rigs. Outside China, COSL has 75 working vessels, 5 chemical carriers, 3 oil tankers, 5 surveying vessels, 8 seismic vessels, and other modern-day equipment and facilities for drilling.

COSL remains as the biggest listed offshore oil services company in China. It is preferred because it offers integrated turnkey services and packages. Aside from China, COSL is conducting drilling in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia. All COSL workers are committed to providing the best services while maintaining the highest standard of safety, health and environment.

COSL’s tagline says, “Always do better”. The endeavors at COSL are always win-win for all stakeholders. It is heading towards becoming one of the top oilfield services providers in the world.

Thanks to Leadership, New Manifestations of Success

The legend of a start-up business rising to national and worldwide success is equally influential as a treasured parable or piece of folklore. We take inspiration from the groups that started with a little seed capital and grew into a household name. While these instances are surely motivational, they may leave us with blind spots in terms of our understanding of the corporate journey. Especially in the wake of the recession, we can learn a great deal from the businesses that fell into struggle and lifted themselves back up to an even higher rung of success than before. Air Pacific, Ltd, is a company that bears this profile.

In 2010, experienced pilot and executive David Pfleiger joined the airline as Chief Executive Officer and faced the harsh truths of its current state: $91 million in Fijian currency in operating losses, and a model of business that couldn’t keep up with its capacity. Pflieger set about breathing new life into the group and undertook numerous projects, including the restructure of union and management contracts, the creation of a new management team, and the decrease in services the airline could not afford. Additionally, he put into effect the country’s first airline fuel conservation plan as well as guest service department. Just 11 months after Pfleiger took control, Air Pacific saw a transition from loss to profit, securing a gross revenue of U.S. $290 million, and achieved a 15 percent increase in on-time performance. Skilled in disparate arenas of legal negotiations, operational strategies, and human resources, Pflieger commands nearly three decades in the aviation industry as well as a JD and MBA. Thanks to leaders like him, buckling businesses may see success again.

Rockwell Automation’s Valuable Contribution to the Manufacturing Industry

Rockwell Automation is doing good in what it does best – helping manufacturers become successful through industrial automation solutions. Whether for enterprise-wide system or stand-alone components, Rockwell Automation has solutions that are proven to deliver even to the most demanding and complex manufacturing environments. Rockwell Automation product portfolio of software and services is comprehensive and they add value to its users. They are scalable and energy-efficient making them a lot cheaper than other products of the same deliverables. Users can better manage their assets with the diagnostics and monitoring features of its software. And they are capable of providing analyses, and help ensure compliance to regulations. With operations in over 80 countries and a global network of 5,600 partners, Rockwell Automation has extended its capabilities worldwide. Solutions are brought right at the customer’s doorstep. Acquisition of expertise is at the center of Rockwell Automation’s plan for the future. Investments are aggressively poured in its R&D efforts to help fuel innovation.

Citrix Systems Inc.: Work Better, Live Better

Citrix Systems Inc. is a multinational company which provides server virtualization, software-as-a-service (SaaS), networking, cloud computing and open source products. The company was founded in 1989 by Ed Iacobucci. Iacobucci was an ex-IBM developer who was able to raise $3 million for Citrix. Iacobucci used the fund for the company’s start up and development. Originally, the company was named Citrus but was changed to Citrix because of a trademark dispute. Citrix believes that work and life are not exclusive. This belief has inspired the company to provide solutions that would allow seamless continuum. These solutions complement life. The company is a success in transforming the way business and IT work. Citrix was able to power workstyles through networking and cloud collaboration. Complex IT infrastructures have become simpler and accessible to over 260,000 clients. Approximately 75% of internet users have been touched by Citrix products every day. Today, Citrix is located in Florida, USA. Several subsidiaries are operating in the states of Massachusetts and California in addition to development centers located in the UK, Canada, India and Australia. The company is publicly traded on NASDAQ. Citrix ULTIUSER was company’s first product. It was based on OS/2. The source code was licensed from Microsoft. The aim of Citrix was to capture a portion of the UNIX market through an easy to deploy OS/2 application. In 1993, Citrix bought from Novell “Netware Access Server”. This was remote access application which is built on DOS. The product can provide computers with applications from the server which can be accessed by multiple users like Terminal Servers do. This was the company’s first successful product. The company has tremendous growth since it went public in 1995. Citirix solutions are used by over 10,000 in over 100 countries. In 2011, the company reported revenues amounting to $2.21 billion.

Schlumberger Ltd.: Moving to “Just-in-Time” Technology

Schlumberger Ltd. is the leading supplier of oilfield services technology, solutions and project management in the world. The company’s products and services help oil explorers to optimize the performance of their reservoir. For 80 years, Schlumberger has used teamwork, knowledge and innovation to leverage on the company’s assets so that customers can improve on their performance. Its 115,000 workers in 85 countries reflect the company’s belief that diversity can spur collaboration, creativity and understanding between customers and the company. The company has developed a close relationship with its clients. This way, the company can meet what the clients need. Schlumberger is serious with its commitment to innovation. The company has 25 research facilities around the world that are focused on innovation and development. In 2011, Schlumberger has spent $1.1 billion for research and development. With the way Schlumberger has showed its commitment to research and development, there is no reason why soon, the industry of oil exploration would move from “just-in-case” to “just-in-time.”

Essilor: Seeing the World Better

Essilor was established when Essel and Silor merged 40 years ago. The parent companies Essel and Silor were the leading optical eyewear companies in France at that time. After the merger, Essilor became the recipient of values that make up its priceless tradition: respect, mutual trust, and building on differences. These values make Essilor unique as it stays ahead of the rest in the industry with its initiatives. Essilor was successful in creating a culture of innovation. Each Essilor worker is driven with the possibility to innovate or invent for the progress of the industry of the lens. Among the possible innovations and inventions include the areas of plastic lenses, lense coatings, high-tech tools used for vision measurement, and customized solutions for vision correction. “Seeing the World Better” is the company’s mission statement. Embedded in these simple words is the desire to contribute to improve people’s eyesight. This mission statement is a result of the company’s 160-year history (including the years of its parent companies Essel and Silor). The statement drives Essilor to set the pace for the lens industry in the world. To ensure the success of the company’s mission, Essilor established a strategy for growth and development based on four pillars: continuous innovation, international expansion through acquisitions, capture the middle-range market, and increase in market size by stimulating demand. Continuous Innovation The basis for quality of its customer relationship is continuous innovations at all levels of the company. Its marketing strategies, services and products all embody the desire to innovate. International Expansion through Acquisitions Acquisitions and partnership increase the company’s market share and strengthens its networks worldwide. It has become the company’s policy to acquire companies and partner with distributors and prescription labs. Capture the Middle-Range Markets In developing countries, the people belonging to the middle class are an emerging market. With the way these markets grow in recent years, Essilor has recognized the real change in market scale when the middle-range market is captured. Increase in Market Size by Stimulating Demand Initiatives to create a demand for the products are done at the earliest stage. Essilor provides information, conducts check-ups, and makes available its supply of lens to many areas around the world, especially those with limited access to optical care.