DENSO Wins Four Medals at 39th WorldSkills Competition

Two Gold Medals in Mould Making and Mobile Robotics Categories

Nov 22, 2007, KARIYA (Japan) - DENSO Corporation and DENSO E&TS Training Center, DENSO's subsidiary responsible for providing engineering and technical training for DENSO employees, won four medals at the 39th WorldSkills Competition. The competition was held in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, Nov. 14-21.

DENSO participants competed in five categories - Mould Making,*1 Manufacturing Team Challenge,*2 Mobile Robotics,*3 CNC Turning,*4 and Industrial Control.*5 Participants won gold medals in Mould Making and Mobile Robotics and silver medals in Manufacturing Team Challenge and CNC Turning.

DENSO also made its debut in the 7th International Abylimpics, which, for the first time in the event's history, was held together with the WorldSkills Competition. DENSO won gold medals in the category of Electronic Assembly and Testing,*6 and Electronic Circuit Connection Techniques.*7

"We believe that highly skilled technicians are indispensable in developing and manufacturing advanced, high-quality products," said Masatoshi Ano, senior managing director of DENSO Corporation.

DENSO established its Technical Training Center in 1954, the predecessor of the technical skill development division of DENSO E&TS Training Center Corporation, and has been focusing on developing skilled technicians and passing on manufacturing expertise to future generations.

The WorldSkills Competition, first held in Spain in 1950, is a premier world event for skills recognition and advancement. This year, 813 young people from 46 countries tested their skills by competing in 47 key trade and technology categories.

DENSO has been sending its employees to the WorldSkills Competition since 1971. In total, 64 DENSO employees have participated in the competition in 56 trades and technologies. To date, DENSO employees have won 44 medals, including 22 gold medals, 11 silver medals, and 11 bronze medals. This year, eight employees, including two employees from DENSO subsidiaries in Thailand and Indonesia, participated in the WorldSkills Competition.

The International Abilympics, first held in Tokyo in 1981, aims to improve vocational skills of people with disabilities in order to promote their participation in socio-economic activities. This year, 360 people from 23 countries tested their skills by competing in 30 key trade and technology categories. Seven DENSO employees participated in this year's International Abilympics.

DENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global supplier of advanced technology, systems and components. Worldwide, the company employs approximately 112,000 people in 32 countries and regions, including Japan. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007 totaled US$30.6 billion. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges in Japan. For more information, go to www.globaldenso.com, or visit our media website at www.densomediacenter.com.

*1 Mould Making
This category evaluates technical proficiency in manufacturing a die to mass-produce plastic components for products such as vehicles and electric appliances. Participants are judged on the dimensional accuracy of a die and the quality of its finished surface, which they are required to machine by using milling machines, electric polishing machines, and files.

*2 Manufacturing Team Challenge
In this category, a team consists of three people, and each plays an individual role. Participating teams design and manufacture a wind power generator based on provided specifications, and make a control device and a control program for the machine required to be built.

*3 Mobile Robotics
This category focuses on skills in assembling a robot system and installing, operating, and maintaining a control system for the robot. Contestants are judged on how well they assemble, manage (including cost management), maintain, and troubleshoot internal mechanical systems for a robot, as well as the installation and operation of a robot control system.

*4 CNC Turning
CNC (Computerized Numeric Control) turning is a computerized machine tool to automatically control the position of a cutting tool and the rotation speed of a work piece fixed to the axis of the machine. This machine is used to manufacture a large number of identical, intricately designed products. Following a given design drawing, participants compete in programming a processing method and its sequence into a CNC turning and in machining products.

*5 Industrial Control
This category evaluates skills in producing items that are necessary for creating a production system for a plant, such as a switchboard, a control panel, and a programmable logic controller (PLC). As the main task, participants connect wires and cables to create control devices. They also are required to write and input a program to operate the control devices, design their circuits, and identify hardware malfunctions using testers.

*6 Electronic Assembly and Testing
In this category, contestants assemble an electronic device using designated components based on diagrams of the circuit, component terminals, chassis construction, and printed board assembly, and check the device to see if it operates as required by the specifications.

*7 Electronic Circuit Connecting Techniques
Electronic circuit connection involves connecting electronic device components to each other to function as a circuit. Participants use given components to make an electronic circuit according to the specifications.

Source: DENSO Corporation

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