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Even as Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works’ integrated system of refining and manufacturing was producing steadily increasing profits, rising demand for its electrical cable only increased demand for more sophisticated products. In fact, the wire and cable industry as a whole was trying to satisfy a rapidly expanding market fueled by the introduction of the latest technology from Europe.
Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works was spun off again, and incorporated as a joint-stock corporation in 1920, a direct result of a capital and technical alliance with US-based Western Electric Company, which held exclusive sales and usage rights to latest equipment for the manufacture of next-generation telephone cable. Western Electric had originally contracted with Nippon Electric Company (NEC), and through this relationship, a three-way alliance that required each partner to hold shares of the other two was established, resulting in the need for Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works to be incorporated as a joint-stock company.
From then on, Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works continued its tireless efforts both to acquire the latest technology and to enable domestic production of products once available only as imports. Through affiliations with foreign companies, Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works acquired the technology and know-how necessary for the development of aluminum cables, oil filled cables, and other historically significant products. It also brought to fruition the installation of submarine and other long-distance communications cables all around Japan. Through the establishment of large-scale R&D facilities in Japan and tireless devotion to advanced research, Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works expanded its business into other areas. In November 1939, it was renamed Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. and an accompanying capital increase provided added impetus to the expansion of business.
A key to Sumitomo Electric’s success was the continued development of innovative technologies that led to further diversification of its business interests. This capacity for development rests on the foundation of wire and cable manufacturing technology established during the early days of the company’s involvement in copper rolling. The application of wire drawing technology led to the development of special metal wires and powered metal alloys, allowing Sumitomo Electric to add items such as automotive-brakes and diamond products to its lineup. Other examples include the application of insulation technology to the development of rubber and plastic products and the use of transmission and control technologies to diversify into optical communication systems and information and control systems.
But more than anything else, it has been the Sumitomo business philosophy and this ability to develop innovative new technologies that enables Sumitomo Electric to adapt and change with constantly changing business conditions by continually breaking into new business fields. The one thing about Sumitomo Electric’s business that is unlikely to ever change is its founding commitment to making high-quality products that underpin all our daily lives.
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| The use of high-tension steel in the manufacture of high-strength concrete is one technique for applying compressive force that provides the added strength necessary in the fabrication of over-sized bridge girders and storage tanks. Shown in the photograph is the Minobe Bridge on the Okayama Expressway. |
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| Sumitomo Electric has been concentrating in recent years on expansion into China.
Sumitomo Electric Optical Fiber and Cable (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. shown here, is one of the 20 current production locations that have been opened since first establishing a presence with a representative office in 1989. |
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96,200 million
