12March2012

Hyogo-Kobe developing into
an integrated logistics hubfor land, sea and air transport
A well-developed distribution network is indispensable to streamline
and optimize the ﬂow of goods in the process ranging from supply of raw
materials to production and sales of products. The Hyogo-Kobe area
serves as an important transit point not only for land shipments byrailway and expressway but also for sea and air shipments. The mainfeatures of the area as a gateway to transport by land, sea and air aredescribed below.

Railway and expressway network spreading across JapanPort of Kobe becomes the nation s ﬁrst to oﬀer 24-hour operation

Kobe, which has easy access to other cities by railway, can be reached in about 170minutes (by the Shinkansen bullet train) from Tokyo and about 20 minutes (by localtrain) from Osaka. An extensive network of railways owned by the Japan Railways
Group (which also operates the Shinkansen) and other private railway companies covers
the Kansai area, including Osaka and Kyoto prefectures, connecting the city to Tokyo
and Nagoya, as well as to the Chugoku and Kyushu regions. A nationwide network ofexpressways also provides advantages to the Hyogo-Kobe area. Expressways̶Hanshin,Meishin, Chugoku, Sanyo, Bantan, etc.̶running across Hyogo prefecture make up thesix arteries of the area, providing excellent access to Nagoya and other regions including
Hokuriku, Shikoku, Chugoku, and Kyushu. The Hyogo-Kobe area has established anetwork that covers the entire country in response to the diverse needs of customers tooﬀer a wide range of distribution services.

The Port of Kobe, located on the world's main sea routes, has a network of regularinternational shipping routes with North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and China.
Recognized as one of the largest container ports in Japan, the Port of Kobe isconnected with a network of 500 ports in over 130 countries and regions. In August
2010, the Port of Kobe was designated by the Japanese government along with thePort of Osaka as a "Strategic International Container Port" under the name of HanshinPort. The port will be given priority in strengthening infrastructure as a hub forinternational trade along with Keihin Port (the ports of Tokyo, Kawasaki andYokohama) in eastern Japan. In 2011, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportand Tourism launched a pilot project, the ﬁrst of its kind in the nation, to handle cargocontainers at the Port of Kobe around the clock. Hanshin Port aims to expand its
functions as a gateway to western Japan, rebuild its functions as a domestic hub andstrengthen its functions as an international hub in East Asia, while improving its
services and facilities.

Meishin Expy

Maizuru-Wakasa Expy

Expressways

Sanyo Expy

NagoyaKyoto

To Tokyo

Chugoku Expy

NaraOsaka

Sannnomiya
Port of Kobe

KIX

Railway

Fukuoka(Hakata)130mins

Mediterranean Sea C.L.B.
Middle East West Asia
Southeast AsiaKobe-Awaji-Naruto Expy

Hiroshima
70mins Aioi

S.L.B.

Nishi-Akashi
HimejiOsaka
14mins

Nakhodka North American
M.L.B.
West Coast

Africa/Latin American
East Coast

Nagoya70minsTokyo
170mins

North American
East Coast /North American Europe
East Coast
Australia
New ZealandSouth Paciﬁc

Yokohama
150mins

Shin-Kobe（bullet trains）

Kobe

Fukuoka(Hakata)

EuropeLatin American
West Coast
Latin American
East Coast

C.L.B. ＣＨ
ＩＮＡ LＡＮＤ ＢＲ
ＩＤＧＥ
S.L.B. ＳＩ
ＢＥＲ
ＩＡ LＡＮＤ ＢＲ
ＩＤＧＥ

M.L.B. ＭＩＮＩLＡＮＤ ＢＲ
ＩＤＧＥ

Flights to various domestic and international destinations
Kobe Airport, which opened in 2006 oﬀshore of Port Island, connects Kobe with eightdomestic destinations including Tokyo, Sapporo and Okinawa. The airport is conveniently
located, just 18 minutes ride from the city center by the automated guideway transit
system Port Liner. In 2011, Skymark Airlines Inc. that operates ﬂights to and from Kobe
Airport decided to move some of its headquarters operations to a facility at the airport.
Several companies, including Eurocopter Japan T&E Co., Ltd., known as a member of amajor helicopter manufacturer group, have moved into near the airport to operate theirbusinesses. The airport is connected to Kansai International Airport (KIX) by a high-speed
ferry with a travel time of about 30 minutes, providing access to international ﬂights (toand from destinations in about 70 cities in about 30 countries). KIX is also easily accessible
from the Sannomiya area, taking about 75 minutes by car. Osaka International Airport,
straddling the prefectures of Hyogo and Osaka, is about 40 minutes by car from theSannomiya area and is connected with 28 cities as a hub for domestic ﬂights. The threeairports in the Kansai area, each with diﬀerent location and ﬂight route, oﬀer ﬂights to awide variety of destinations to meet the needs of companies.

1h45mins

Kyoto

ShigaHyogo
Osaka int'l Air port
1h10mins
FukuokaKagawa

http://www.hyogo-kobe.jp

1h10mins

Kobe Airport
30mins byhigh-speed ferry

SapporoTokyo

1h10mins

OsakaKIX
To various cities in the world

MieNara12March
2012

Opening up a new market in the aviation industry
Providing total support on Kobe Airport Island©Eurocopter / Shibuya Atsushi

The role of the helicopter
I think you all know about helicopters, but they are
not commonly used as a means of transportation.
The major role of the helicopter is to rescue people
and transport goods, as seen in the news coverageof the Great East Japan Earthquake and othernatural disasters. An airplane is not ideal for searchand rescue operations because it cannot land indisaster-aﬀected areas. Meanwhile, a highly mobile
helicopter is capable of carrying out a wide rangeof operations: emergency medical services, security
and rescue operations, including mountain rescues,by police oﬃcers, ﬁreﬁghters and coast guardoﬃcers, VIP transportation, etc. Not everybody hasthe opportunity to ride in a helicopter, but it is anindispensable tool for emergency operations.
Eurocopter is a helicopter manufacturer andEurocopter Japan Group is responsible for sales of
the aircraft in Japan and provides after-sales
service to local customers.

Reason to start business in Kobe
Eurocopter now has more than half of the market
share for helicopters for both the public and private
sectors in Japan. We need to further strengthen our
after-sales service, training programs and researchand development activities. Due to limited space,
we are unable to realize the expansion of theseservices at Osaka International Airport, also known
as Itami Airport, where our hangar is currentlylocated. Above all, it is important to obtain theunderstanding of the central and local governments
and local communities to operate aircraft. When we
decided to open our business in Kobe, a sister city
to Marseille where the head oﬃce of Eurocopter islocated, we were able to obtain the consent andcooperation of local governments, the Japan
External Trade Organization and the Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and Industry. We are currently

Eurocopter serves as the helicopter division of theEuropean Aeronautic Defence and Space Company,
formally known as the European Aeronautic Defence
and Space Company (EADS), a worldwide leading
aerospaceindustrygroup,including
Airbus.
Eurocopter Japan Group, founded in 2009, comprises
two companies―Eurocopter Japan Co., Ltd., which isengaged in import and sales of aircraft andEurocopter Japan T&E Co., Ltd., which provides
maintenance services. (The merger is scheduled totake place on April 1, 2012.) Eurocopter Japan Groupwill open a new center for maintenance, training anddevelopment to be in full operation this spring onKobe Airport Island. Here is an introduction to theKobe center in excerpts taken from a lecture (held inNovember 2011) by Mr. Kyoji Takami, General
Manager of the company s Maintenance Department.

promoting business with enterprises in neighboringcommunities. The accumulated resources in theaviation and shipping industries in the area were agreat advantage to us.

Construction of new facilities andequipment on Kobe Airport Island
A hangar that can accommodate 25 mid-sizedhelicopters has been under construction on a lot
near Kobe Airport as of November 2011. While
expanding our services in the ﬁeld of maintenance,
repair and overhaul, we will also improve ourservices to our customers through a workforce ofover 200 employees based in Kobe. It seems thecity government of Kobe, which was struck by theGreat Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, is considering
using Kobe Airport as a disaster managementbase. Therefore, our company has implemented
measures against soil liquefaction and installed
power generators for emergencies at the Kobe
center, with an eye on use of the center as a basefor disaster relief activities in case of emergency. Ahelicopter full ﬂight simulator, the ﬁrst of its kind inJapan, will be set up in the hangar to improve theﬂying skills of pilots as well as aviation safety ingeneral. Furthermore, we will expand our researchand development activities to increase the utilityof helicopters and develop various types ofdevices, including a broadcast television camera,
and medical equipment to be used on board ahelicopter as part of an emergency medicalservice.

Growing in the region with local entities
Eurocopter is the only foreign-affiliated aircraft
manufacturer that provides total support fromsales to after-sales service. The Kobe center, tobe in full operation in April 2012, will serve as acore facility providing total support. We will bededicated to creating employment opportunities

http://www.hyogo-kobe.jp

with a growing demand for labor and promotionof local industries through collaboration withother companies, in partnership with industry,government and academia in the Kansai area.
We will also work hard to contribute to theglobalization of the region.

©Eurocopter

Eurocopter Japan T&E Co., Ltd.

（Will be merged on April 1 with Eurocopter JapanCo., Ltd. and will move to the following address:）
Location: 8-8, 9, Kobe Airport, Chuo-ku, Kobe
Land Area: 14,380 m²
Building Area: 5,580 m²
Total Floor Area: 8,041 m²
Major Business: Small aircraft maintenance
Employees: 200 (when in full operation)

Eurocopter Japan Co., Ltd.

Head Oﬃce: 19F Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 6-10-1
Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
President & CEO: Stephane Ginoux
Founded: 2009
Employees: 70