Professional Luncheon,
Hideaki Omiya,
President, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

The speech will be in English and the Q & A in Japanese with English interpretation.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has created much buzz with its $1.5 billion plan for a new regional jet, which will be the first Japanese commercial passenger plane in three decades.

All Nippon Airways has signed on for 15 and 10 options for Mitsubishi's plane that will incorporate light-weight, carbon-fiber and new, more efficient turbofan engines. That fresh technology is supposed to improve operating efficiency by at least 20%.

The company, which builds everything from nuclear reactors and battle tanks to home air conditioners, is betting that its decades of being a supplier to Boeing, including the crucial carbon-fiber wings for the new 787 Dreamliner, will give it the know-how to produce a successful plane and the clout to sell it.

But the company, which had some $32 billion in sales last fiscal year, will have its work cut out for it.

Set to first fly in 2013, the new jet will enter service after similar ones from competitors in a market where history has shown there's room for just a few big players. The regional plane market is dominated by Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer. Russian and Chinese manufacturers have models set to take off before Mitsubishi's too.

Omiya joined Mitsubishi in 1969 after graduating from the University of Tokyo's School of Engineering. He became president of the company in April, previously serving as Representative Director and Senior Executive Vice President.

Sandwich: Roasted beef & blue cheese baguette, caramelized onion with horseradish mayonnaise.
Hot Lunch: Tandoori salmon, mango chutney, yogurt raita, roasted bell pepper, steamed rice.
Dining Room Special: Grilled veal fillet, sauteed wild mushrooms and spinach, creamy mashed potato, peppercorn ragout.

Hideaki Omiya