Tokyo manufacturer
considers isle site

The maker of mobile phones
wants to open an Oahu branch

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

Uniden Corp., a Japanese manufacturer of wireless telephones and satellite broadcasting receivers, is considering Hawaii for a branch office, says Seiji Naya, state director of business, economic development and tourism.

If Uniden, which wants to to expand its U.S. production of mobile phones, locates in Hawaii, it would be the third anchor for developing a high-technology industry in the isles, Naya said yesterday.

The state already has two anchors in Square Co. Ltd. of Tokyo, a leading Japanese developer of interactive computer entertainment, and Houston-based Continental Airlines, which plans to build a maintenance hangar to service its Pacific jumbo-jet fleet, Naya said.

Having at least four anchor companies will help to attract other technology-related businesses, Naya said.

Uniden is considering a bid for Hawaii's license for a World Trade Center franchise in Honolulu, Naya added.

Uniden, which has its management and development offices in Tokyo, produces mobile phones and cordless phones at its plants in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines. It already has U.S. operations in San Diego and Texas, Naya said. In all, it employs 20,000 people.

Uniden said it hopes to hire 50 people for a software development center this fall and eventually expand its isle work force to 100. Hawaii is attractive because engineers can communicate with Uniden's mainland and Japan operations during the same work day, the company said.

During Gov. Ben Cayetano's recent trip to Japan to promote isle tourism, he also visited with Uniden executives.

Square was lauded by Cayetano during the formal opening yesterday of Square's Honolulu studio on the top two floors of the 31-story Harbor Court building.

Square, Cayetano said, is an example of the kind of computer and software company that his administration wants to see established in the isles.

Junichi Yanagihara, a Square USA executive, said the Honolulu operation now has 50 employees but that number is expected to double by year's end. Growth is expected to continue into 1998, with the 18,000-square-foot Honolulu studio expected to have 200 employees and occupy two additional floors at Harbor Court, he added.

The company has donated $750,000 worth of computer graphics equipment and software to the University of Hawaii to groom graphic artists it might hire. Square's senior computer graphic artists earn as much as $80,000 annually.