is a manufacturer of electric wire and optical fiber cables. Its headquarters are in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The company's shares are listed in the first section of the Tokyo, Nagoya Stock Exchanges, and the Fukuoka Stock Exchange. In the period ending March 2021, the company reported consolidated sales of US$26,5 billion (2,918,580 million Japanese yen).
The company was founded in 1897 to produce copper wire for electrical uses. Sumitomo Electric operates in five business fields: Automotive, Information & Communications, Electronics, Environment & Energy, and Industrial materials and is developing in two others: Life Sciences and Materials & Resources. It has more than 400 subsidiaries and over 280,000 employees in more than 30 countries.
Sumitomo Electric has traditionally had an intensive focus on R&D to develop new products. Its technologies have been used in major projects including traffic control in Thailand, improvement of telecom networks in Nigeria, membrane technology for waste water treatment in Korea, and bridge construction in Germany. Sumitomo produces chips for 5G base stations.
Sumitomo Electric's electrical wiring harness systems, which are used to send information and energy to automobiles, hold the largest market share in the world. Sumitomo Electric also continues to be the leading manufacturer of composite semiconductors (GaAs, GaN, InP), which are widely used in semiconductor lasers, LEDs, and mobile telecommunications devices. The company is one of the top three manufacturers in the world of optical fiber.
History
1897 to 1950
1897 - Sumitomo Copper Rolling Works was founded
1900 - Started production of coated wires
1908 - Started production of power cables
1909 - Started trial production of telecommunication cables
1911 - Established Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works; Laid first Japan-made high-voltage underground cables 1916 - Opened a new factory (now the Osaka Works); Started production of enamel wires 1920 - Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works incorporated as a limited company 1931 - Started production of cemented carbide tools 1932 - Started production of special steel wires 1939 - Company name changed to the current name, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. 1941 - Opened the Itami Works 1943 - Started production of vibration-proof rubber products and fuel tanks 1946 - Opened a brand office in Tokyo (now the Tokyo Head Office) 1948 - Started marketing sintered powder metal products 1949 - Entered into the construction business of overhead transmission lines
1951 to 2000
1957 - Delivered the first Japan-made television broadcasting antennas
1961 - Opened the Yokohama Works; Delivered the wiring harnesses for four-wheel vehicles for the first time in its history 1962 - Started production of the Irrax Tube electron beam irradiation tubes; The head office was moved from Osaka's Konohana Ward to its present location in Chuo Ward 1963 - Started production of disc brakes 1964 - Started production of electron beam irradiation wires 1968 - Entered into the traffic control systems business 1969 - Established the first overseas production subsidiary in Thailand (SIAM Electric Industries Co., Ltd.); Started development of flexible printed circuits (FPCs) 1970 - Started production of compound semiconductors 1971 - Opened the Kanto Works1974-Started production of optical fiber cables 1975 - Contracted to construct a power transmission line in Iran 1976 - Received an order for a large telecommunications network construction project in Nigeria 1978 - Delivered and put into operation the world's first bidirectional fiber optics CATV system called “Hi-OVIS” 1981 - Delivered and installed fiber optic LAN systems for the first time in its history 1982 - Succeeded in producing the world's-largest-class (1.2 carats) synthetic diamonds 1996 - Developed a technology for producing long-length oxide high voltage superconducting wires 1998 - Developed and started marketing ecology wires and cables 1999 - Sumitomo Electric Fine Polymer, Inc. (fine polymer products) started operation