ELON--Thursday July 27, 8:13 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. Announces Smart Lighting Products Built on Echelon's LonWorks Platform
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 2000--Matsushita Electric Works (MEW), Ltd., maker of National and Panasonic, NAIS brand products and the leader in the Japanese lighting control industry, announced today that they have developed a set of lighting control products based on Echelon's (Nasdaq:ELON - news) LonWorks® platform. The new products are designed to serve the rapidly emerging market for open, interoperable LonWorks based building control systems in Japan. These new MEW products (a relay control unit and a scene controller for dimming four or six lights) were created through close collaboration between MEW and Echelon and will be commercially available in December of this year, to be followed by overseas models which are currently under development in Japan.
In addition, MEW also announced today that it has established a partnership with Honeywell Corporation to distribute Honeywell's LonMark® certified heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) controllers in Japan. Interoperability between MEW's lighting controllers and Honeywell's HVAC controllers will enable MEW to deliver integrated building control solutions that decrease cost and increase comfort and efficiency.
``Our customers are demanding open, interoperable LonWorks products and systems and we are committed to meeting their needs,'' said Kunimitsu Nakano, MEW's director of Building Automation & Security Systems Division. ``The lighting control products that we announced today are our first step. We see many exciting applications for LonWorks products throughout our building control business and we plan to develop and launch a wide range of complementary LonWorks based products in years to come.''
``We are extraordinarily pleased to be working closely with Matsushita,'' said Jeff Lund, Echelon's vice president of Business Development and Corporate Marketing. ``Through its products, partnerships, and plans announced today, MEW is well positioned to take a leadership role in the growing LonWorks market in Japan and throughout the world. MEW's products demonstrate how by extending the power and benefits of networking to everyday devices, LonWorks networks can increase efficiency and comfort while lowing installation and operating costs.''
About Echelon Corporation
Echelon Corporation is the world leader in networking everyday devices. The company offers a comprehensive line of hardware and software products for automating building, home, industrial, transportation, and utility applications using LonWorks networks, an international, cross-industry, open standard for interoperable device networks. Echelon is Bringing the Internet to Life(tm) by linking the millions of everyday devices connected with LonWorks networks to the Internet.
Echelon is based in Sunnyvale, Calif. with international offices in China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Further information can be found at echelon.com.
Echelon's LonWorld2000(TM) Conference and Exhibition is designed to help end-users, integrators, service providers, and manufacturers learn how to use the LonWorks system in their business. The conference will take place on October 18-19 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida and features a series of forums, classes and presentations along with an exhibition of products and services covering the home/utility, building, industrial, and transportation markets. Sponsorship, registration and exhibition information about LonWorld2000 can be found at lonworld2000.com.
About the LonMark Interoperability Association
Since its inception in May 1994, the LonMark Interoperability Association has become a major driving force in the establishment of interoperable guidelines for building, industrial and residential/utility automation. LonMark membership is open to any manufacturer, end-user and system integrator committed to the development and use of open, interoperable products using multi-vendor LonWorks control networks. Further information on the LonMark Interoperability Association and its members can be found on the LonMark Association website at www.lonmark.org.
About Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.
Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. operates in the six product areas of lighting products, information equipment and wiring products, home appliances, building products, electronic and plastic materials, and automation controls. MEW takes an integrated approach to its operations which start with research and development, manufacturing, and sales and extend to proposals for product usage, installation and servicing.
MEW's products range from home appliances to products and fixtures for homes, buildings, commercial establishments, public facilities, and factories. The MEW group of 39,121 employees includes 90 consolidated subsidiaries worldwide, ranging from production sites to research laboratories. The MEW global sales network is comprised of 213 sales offices and 2,482 agents.
Visit MEW's English home page at www.mew.co.jp/e-index.html.
Note to Editors: Echelon, LonWorks, LonMark, the LonMark logo, and the Echelon logo are trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. LonWorld2000 and Bringing the Internet to Life are trademarks of Echelon Corporation. Other marks belong to their respective holders. |
