About Mitsubishi Electric Factory AutomationThe Road to Automating the WorldInterviews with People Involved in the Factory Automation Systems Business
Sharing Japan’s Monozukuri
with the Global Manufacturing CommunityRomeo Tragico Areno
Sales & Operation Department.
Joined MELCO Factory Automation Philippines, Inc. in 2019
2026-02
Mitsubishi Electric’s FA systems business aims to enable employees to fully demonstrate their ideas, technologies, and beliefs to achieve the common goal of “Automating the World.”
Through the “Road to Automating the World” series, we share their authentic voices from around the world.
In this article, we interviewed Romeo Tragico Areno, who proposes FA solutions and promotes their implementation.
Delivering Fast, Effective Solutions that Meet Customer Needs
── Could you share your background and how you came to join Mitsubishi Electric?
Romeo:My father worked as a bulldozer operator for a logging company in Mindanao, while my mother cared for our family at home. Neither of my parents received a satisfactory education, so they were determined that I should. Thanks to their efforts, I pursued higher education - specializing in electrical wiring in high school and earning a degree in Electrical Engineering. After university I became a Registered Electrical Engineer and began my career as an engineer, later serving as a sales manager at a major industrial supplier in Southeast Asia. I then joined Integrated Factory Automation (IFA), a Mitsubishi Electric FA distributor. Since 2019, when IFA was integrated into the Mitsubishi Electric Group, I have been a manager in the Sales & Operation Division of MELCO Factory Automation Philippines.
── What are your current job responsibilities and mission?
Romeo:I focus on delivering solutions - combining different FA products into complete systems instead of pushing single products. As a team manager, I’m accountable for securing year-on-year sales growth. I achieve this by closely listening to customers’ needs, responding swiftly, and providing the best possible solutions. One of the most rewarding aspects of my role is seeing our customers satisfaction with those solutions.
── What do you value in your everyday work?
Romeo:I am passionate about helping customers tackle business and social challenges. They appreciate my down-to-earth approach and my genuine focus on their best interests. For example, we once had products ready for installation but the customer had no available shutdown window to do the work. Our policy required full payment before installation, so we needed a different solution. We decided on staged deliveries: we supplied completed replacement systems that could be installed incrementally during brief windows and issued progress invoices for each stage. I chose this approach because I genuinely wanted to be as helpful as possible while keeping the project commercially viable.
Sincere and Down-to-earth Interactions with Customers
── How did you come to that belief?
Romeo:I come from a humble beginning. This background instilled in me a deep-rooted work ethic and a down-to-earth attitude. From my parents and others around me I learned to help people without expecting anything in return—if you offer to help only to get something back, people will see your true intentions immediately. When you give genuinely, favors tend to come back to you. That belief still guides me today.
── Do you have any specific experience in which that belief came to fruition?
Romeo:Energy savings are currently big issues in the Philippines’ industries, with semiconductor plants at the top of the list. A Japanese electronics manufacturer who came to us for advice was also having a problem with high power consumptions at their factories. In order to facilitate improvement in the situation for the customer, we decided to introduce the “Energy Saving Solution & Facilities Monitoring System” initially to one of their twelve factories. As a result, electricity consumption was cut by approximately 3.7 million kWh during the eight months following the completion. This translated into a reduction of as much as PHP 24 million (or about US$ 403,000) in costs. We are currently working on the seventh factory with a view to introducing the system to all of the factories. The same customer has placed additional orders for inverters and LVS. We believe that these successes are the fruit of our sincere attitude towards addressing the customer’s problem.
── Finally, what is your vision of “monozukuri”?
Romeo:The concept of “monozukuri” is deeply rooted in Japanese industrial culture, emphasizing craftsmanship, pride, and unwavering dedication in creating high-quality products. It is more than just manufacturing—it embodies the spirit and honor of making things with care, precision, and passion. By sharing the monozukuri philosophy with the global manufacturing community, we can inspire the production of more high-quality products that improve people’s lives. I hope the spirit of monozukuri continues to flourish.
*This article is based on interviews conducted in February 2026.
