BIZCHINA / Center
Agilent to double China R&D workforce
By Li Weitao (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-24 09:07
US-based Agilent Technologies, the world's largest maker of
scientific-testing gear, plans to more than double its research and
development (R&D) workforce in China in anticipation of robust demand for
measuring equipment in the country.
"Our goal is to double our workforce over the next five years in China
and have 1,000 R&D engineers here," said Bill Sullivan, president and CEO
of Agilent.
Agilent now employs 1,300 people in China, including 400 R&D engineers.
"China is now our second-largest and fastest-growing market in the
world," Sullivan said. "We hope to grow faster than the market and remain
the No 1 measuring company."
Agilent, a spinoff from Hewlett-Packard, provides instruments in a wide
range of areas including electronic and optical tests, measurements, life
sciences and chemical analysis.
The firm last week officially opened its China headquarters in Beijing
with an investment of 250 million yuan including the Agilent Open Lab &
Solution Center and the Life Science & Chemical Analysis Center of
Excellence.
The headquarters will combine Agilent's Beijing-based R&D, sales,
marketing, technical support and after-sales functions in China.
In February 2006, China issued a blueprint for the development of the
science and technology sector in the 2006-20 period. It set a target to
increase the ratio of the country's R&D spending to gross domestic
product to 2.5 percent by 2020.
Sullivan said the blueprint would trigger big orders for Agilent as it
has identified energy, environmental protection, agriculture and food
security, information technology and life sciences as the top priorities.
Agilent provides testers to all these sectors. It has already started
benefiting from a number of new initiatives by the government such as
tightened supervision of food security and environmental pollution.
For instance, chemical analysis orders Agilent won globally, representing
approximately 57 percent of bio-analytical measurements, grew 8 percent
in 2006 compared to 2005.
"During the year, we continued to derive strength from the food and
environmental segments because of increased testing demands from new
regulations enacted in Europe and Asia, particularly China and India,"
the company said in its 2006 financial reports.
"These regulatory changes led to strong demand for our gas
chromatography, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry solutions
that are used for food and environmental testing."
Its Open Lab & Solution Center is the firm's second open lab for
electronic measurements. Agilent Life Science & Chemical Analysis Center
of Excellence is the first for Agilent in the field in China. Agilent
will also provide the measuring equipment and devices for anti-doping
tests at the Beijing Olympics.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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