Why Japan’s Automation Inc is indispensable to global industry

A little-known pinch-point in the world’s supply chains  

Japan's automation firms also owe some of their success to corporate culture.SMC maintains a network of 6,ooo salespeople who double as systems engineers with in-depth knowledge of customers' equipment.Keyence uses no middlemen to sell its products, relying entirely on its own sales force. As with SMC,many are engineers, who spend a lot of time on customers' factory floors identifying niggles and tweaks that might otherwise go unnoticed.They are rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Nikkei, a Japanese publisher, reports that average salaries at Keyence exceeded $15o,ooo in the last fiscal year.

niggle/ˈnɪɡl/  N1.轻微的批评；小牢骚2.一丝挥不去的烦恼（或疑虑等）•a niggle of doubt 一丝挥之不去的疑虑3.轻微疼痛V 1~ (at sb) 使烦恼；使焦虑•A doubt niggled at her. 一丝疑惑困扰着她。2.[ V ] ~ (about/over sth)~ (at sb) (for sth) 吹毛求疵；挑剔

tweak  /twiːk/  V/N1.扭；拧；扯2.稍稍调整（机器、系统等）

The automation stars, like Japan Inc as a whole, tend to be less generous with shareholders. Most sit on piles of cash; Keyence held over $10bn in current assets in the last financial year. The reserved character of the companies and their tightfistedness is so well-established that some investors say any sudden shifts in that attitude may be a sign of big and possibly unwelcome changes at the firms.

Tightfistedness：吝啬

Investors have to rely on such rune-reading because it is not always clear what is going on inside the companies, at least by contemporary Western standards of open shareholder relations. SMC's “traditional Japanese approach to corporate governance", as Baillie Gifford, a tech-focused British asset manager, delicately put it in 2o2o, offers only limited engagement with shareholders. One asset manager with a stake in Keyence reports never speaking directly with its management.

Rune /ruːn/n. 1.如尼字母（属于北欧古文字体系）2.神秘的记号；有魔力的符号

As the companies become ever more international, they will face pressure to be more candid-and less frugal, both with payouts to shareholders and with investments. Fanuc increased its dividend sharply in 2015 under pressure from Third Point, an American activist hedge fund. As Japan becomes less averse to gadfly investors, Automation Inc should expect more such calls. To maintain their innovative edge, meanwhile, the firms may need to spend considerably more on R&D. Amid tech-inflected geopolitical tensions with the West, China wants to reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers of all manner of advanced technology, including robotics. If successful, the Chinese strategy would at once deprive the Japanese firms of a big market and create new global rivals. Becoming indispensable is one thing. Staying so is quite another.

 Candid /ˈkændɪd/ adj. 1.坦率的；坦诚的；直言不讳的•a candid statement/interview 坦率的陈述╱会谈2. 抢拍的，偷拍的（照片）

 frugal/ˈfru：ɡl/adj. 1.（对金钱、食物等）节约的，节俭的•a frugal existence/life 俭朴的生活 2.( 饭菜 ) 简单廉价的

 averse to ：反对··，··不乐意··

gadfly /ˈɡædflaɪ/ n. （为使别人做某事而对其进行骚扰或批评的）讨人厌者；牛虻

 译文

Japan's automation firms also owe some of their success to corporate culture.SMC maintains a network of 6,ooo salespeople who double as systems engineers with in-depth knowledge of customers' equipment.Keyence uses no middlemen to sell its products, relying entirely on its own sales force. As with SMC,many are engineers, who spend a lot of time on customers' factory floors identifying niggles and tweaks that might otherwise go unnoticed.They are rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Nikkei, a Japanese publisher, reports that average salaries at Keyence exceeded $15o,ooo in the last fiscal year.

日本的自动化公司也将他们的成功部分归功于企业文化。SMC拥有6千名销售人员，他们同时也是系统工程师，对客户设备有深入的了解。基恩士不通过中间商销售产品，完全依靠自己的销售团队。与SMC一样，许多人都是工程师，他们花大量时间在客户的工厂车间，找出那些可能被忽视的细微之处和调整。他们的努力得到了丰厚的回报。日本出版商《日经新闻》(Nikkei)报道称，凯恩斯在上个财年的平均工资超过了150000美元。

The automation stars, like Japan Inc as a whole, tend to be less generous with shareholders. Most sit on piles of cash; Keyence held over $10bn in current assets in the last financial year. The reserved character of the companies and their tightfistedness is so well-established that some investors say any sudden shifts in that attitude may be a sign of big and possibly unwelcome changes at the firms.

自动化企业与日本公司整体形象一样，对股东往往不那么慷慨。大多数公司坐拥大量现金。基恩士在上一财年持有逾100亿美元的流动资产。这些公司内敛而吝啬的特制是如此根深蒂固，以至于一些投资者说，这种态度的任何突然转变，都可能是这些公司出现重大、可能不受欢迎的变化的迹象。

Investors have to rely on such rune-reading because it is not always clear what is going on inside the companies, at least by contemporary Western standards of open shareholder relations. SMC's “traditional Japanese approach to corporate governance", as Baillie Gifford, a tech-focused British asset manager, delicately put it in 2o2o, offers only limited engagement with shareholders. One asset manager with a stake in Keyence reports never speaking directly with its management.

投资者不得不依赖这种“符文解读”，因为公司内部的情况并不总是很清楚，至少以当代西方公开股东关系的标准来看是如此。正如专注于技术的英国资产管理公司贝利•吉福德(Baillie Gifford)在2020中巧妙地指出的那样，SMC“传统的日本公司治理方式”只能与股东进行有限的接触。一位持有基恩士股份的资产管理公司表示，从未与该公司管理层直接对话。

As the companies become ever more international, they will face pressure to be more candid-and less frugal, both with payouts to shareholders and with investments. Fanuc increased its dividend sharply in 2O15 under pressure from Third Point, an American activist hedge fund. As Japan becomes less averse to gadfly investors, Automation Inc should expect more such calls. To maintain their innovative edge, meanwhile, the firms may need to spend considerably more on R&D. Amid tech-inflected geopolitical tensions with the West, China wants to reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers of all manner of advanced technology, including robotics. If successful, the Chinese strategy would at once deprive the Japanese firms of a big market and create new global rivals. Becoming indispensable is one thing. Staying so is quite another.

随着这些公司变得越来越国际化，要求它们更加坦率和减少节俭的压力会更多，不论是在向股东派发股息还是投资方面。在美国激进对冲基金Third Point的压力下，发那科在2020年大幅增加了股息。随着日本对饿狼般投资者不再那么反感，自动化公司应该会应对更多这样的要求。与此同时，为了保持他们的创新优势，这些公司可能需要在研发上投入更多。在科技影响下的与西方的地缘政治紧张关系中，中国希望减少对外国供应商的各种先进技术的依赖，包括机器人。如果成功，中国的战略将立刻剥夺日本公司的巨大市场，并创造日本新的全球竞争对手。变得不可或缺是一回事。保持这种状态完全是另一回事。

《经济学人·商论》22年3月刊