A business that is Swansea born and bred is now truly on the international stage.
Yokogawa Electric Corporation has signed an agreement with RAP International Ltd for Yokogawa to acquire all shares of the company and make RAP a wholly owned subsidiary.
Since 1994, RAP has been developing and implementing software solutions with integrated best practices that let customers digitise their control of work (CoW) processes to make their maintenance activities safer, more accurate, and more efficient.
RAPnet, their flagship product, is a comprehensive and easy to use electronic CoW system for automating maintenance processes that is built around a large knowledge base incorporating decades of firsthand knowledge and experience. The digitised off the shelf solution includes standard modules for safety risk assessments, permit to work management, management of change, interlocks and overrides, and isolation management. The system is complemented by consulting services as well as mobile and cloud based functionality to fully deliver on the digital ambitions of customers. With support for 25 languages, it has been implemented at over 150 locations in 30 countries in the oil, gas, chemical, utilities, and steel sectors.
Yokogawa provides industrial automation solutions to optimise productivity and efficiency whilst at the same time assuring plant safety and asset integrity. The company already offers solutions that can monitor the health of plant equipment, and digital platforms to support field maintenance. RAP’s solutions will further enhance Yokogawa’s asset and safety assurance value proposition. Yokogawa will expand the availability of RAP’s consultancy services and road tested systems through its global sales network, starting in Europe. The company will also carry out development work to integrate these into its existing technology portfolio and create a digital transformation platform that enables real time monitoring of both plant assets and maintenance procedures.
Simon Rogers, head of Yokogawa’s Advanced Solutions Division, said “Yokogawa believes that to create unique value for our customers it is important to integrate domain knowledge into the technology solutions we deliver. RAP’s systems are built around manufacturing industry best practices developed over the past 25 years, enabling customers to digitalize and transform their maintenance safety processes, better protect their workforce, and improve operational efficiency. One of the strategies laid out in our Transformation 2020 mid-term business plan is to expand our OPEX business, so in line with that we look forward to making this outstanding addition to Yokogawa’s safety assurance portfolio available to our customers around the world as soon as possible.”