News&Notes Vol.1

	Vol. 1 Spring 1997
		Kajima Subsidiaries in Taiwan and Singapore Acquire ISO 9002 Certification As competitiveness in the construction and engineering industries has intensified on a global scale, it is no longer sufficient to offer advantages from planning and cost perspectives alone--ever-higher levels of product quality must be achieved. Until recently, however, product quality standards across the global stage varied widely according to country, and comparisons were extremely complicated given the lack of uniform guidelines. The ISO 9000 series of quality assurance standards were introduced to remedy this situation, and from 1997 construction companies that fail to acquire ISO 9000 certification will not be awarded bids, or may not be qualified to bid, on public works projects in certain countries. During 1996, Chung-Lu (Sino-Kajima) Construction Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kajima in Taiwan, and Kajima Overseas Asia Pte. Ltd., in Singapore, received ISO 9002 certification, in September and November, respectively. Kajima will continue to work to obtain proper certification at its overseas operations as part of its ongoing efforts toward international business development.
		Order Received for High Rise in Taiwan In December 1996, Chung-Lu (Sino-Kajima) Construction won an order from the Ambassador Hotel, one of Taiwan's oldest and largest hotel chains, for the new construction of the Ambassador Hotel Hsinchu. The order is worth approximately12 billion yen. The new building, situated in the center of Hsinchu, a city southwest of Taipei, will have four underground levels and 24 aboveground floors, with a total floor space of 77,000 square meters. It will house both a hotel and a department store. Chung-Lu (Sino-Kajima) Construction's bid was selected over four other bids, including those of Japanese-affiliated firms, not only because of the price but also the superior quality of the buildings Chung-Lu (Sino-Kajima) Construction had constructed in Taiwan.
		Development of Energy-Saving Drying Technology for High-Moisture-Content Waste Materials Kajima has developed a new technology that enables significantly less energy to be used in drying treatments for sludge, raw garbage, and other high-moisture-content waste materials and is now aiming to commercialize this process. The so-called vapor recondensation method applies steam heat pump technologies, and preliminary tests verify that the method is more than five times as energy-efficient as heat-drying methods that use oil boilers. Due to the simple construction of the equipment, once mass production begins the system will provide outstanding economic advantages from the standpoints of both initial and running costs. The technology is well suited to application with a wide range of high-moisture-content waste materials and waste liquids and could serve as the basis for the adoption of completely new recycling systems. Accordingly, Kajima is pursuing the further development and commercialization of the vapor recondensation method as a major environmental technology.

	Vol. 1 Spring 1997	･Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena The World's Largest Suspended Timber Roof
		･KAJIMA Around the World
		･KAJIMA Creations