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Toshiba

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Toshiba Corporation
株式会社東芝
Company typeCorporation TYO: 6502, (LSE: TOS)
Founded1939 (merger)
HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
Key people
Hisashige Tanaka, Founder of Shibaura Engineering Works
Ichisuke Fujioka and Shoichi Miyoshi, Founders of Tokyo Electric
Atsutoshi Nishida, CEO
ProductsDigital products, Electronic devices & components, Social Infrastructure, Home appliances, and others
Revenue7,668.1 billion Yen ($76.68 billion) (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2008)[1]
127.4 billion Yen ($1.274 billion) (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2008)
Number of employees
190,708 (2007)
WebsiteToshiba Worldwide
Toshiba Corporation's headquarters (center) in Hamamatsucho, Tokyo.
Toshiba Corporation sales by division for year ending March 31, 2005.

Toshiba Corporation (株式会社東芝, Kabushiki-gaisha Tōshiba) (TYO: 6502) is a multinational conglomerate manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company's main business is in Infrastructure, Consumer Products, and Electronic devices and components.

Toshiba-made Semiconductors are among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. Toshiba is the world's fifth largest personal computer manufacturer, after Hewlett-Packard and Dell of the U.S., Acer of Taiwan and Lenovo of China.[3]

History

Toshiba was founded by the merging of two companies in 1939.

One, Tanaka Seizosho (Tanaka Engineering Works), was Japan's first manufacturer of telegraph equipment and was established by Hisashige Tanaka in 1875. In 1904, its name was changed to Shibaura Seisakusho (Shibaura Engineering Works). Through the first part of the 20th century Shibaura Engineering Works became a major manufacturer of heavy electrical machinery as Japan modernized during the Meiji Era and became a world industrial power.

The second company, Hakunetsusha, was established in 1890 and was Japan's first producer of incandescent electric lamps. It diversified into the manufacture of other consumer products and in 1899 was renamed Tokyo Denki (Tokyo Electric).

The merger in 1939 of Shibaura Seisakusho and Tokyo Denki created a new company called Tokyo Shibaura Denki(東京芝浦電気). It was soon nicknamed Toshiba, but it wasn't until 1978 that the company was officially renamed Toshiba Corporation.

The group expanded strongly, both by internal growth and by acquisitions, buying heavy engineering and primary industry firms in the 1940s and 1950s and then spinning off subsidiaries in the 1970s and beyond. Groups created include Toshiba EMI (1960), Toshiba International Corporation (1970's) Toshiba Electrical Equipment (1974), Toshiba Chemical (1974), Toshiba Lighting and Technology (1989), Toshiba America Information Systems (1989) and Toshiba Carrier Corporation (1999).

Toshiba was responsible for a number of Japanese firsts, including radar (1942), the TAC digital computer (1954), transistor television and microwave oven (1959), color video phone (1971), Japanese word processor (1978), MRI system (1982), laptop personal computer (1986), NAND EEPROM (1991), DVD (1995), the Libretto sub-notebook personal computer (1996) and HD DVD (2005).

In 1987, Toshiba Machine, the subsidiary of Toshiba, was accused of illegally selling CNC milling machines used to produce very quiet submarine propellers to the Soviet Union in violation of the CoCom agreement, an international embargo on Western exports to East Bloc countries. The Toshiba-Kongsberg scandal involved a subsidiary of Toshiba and the Norwegian company Kongsberg Vaapenfabrikk. The incident strained relations between the United States and Japan, and resulted in the arrest and prosecution of two senior executives, as well as the imposition of sanctions on the company by both countries.[4] The US had always relied on the fact that the Soviets had noisy boats, so technology that would make the USSR's submarines harder to detect created a significant threat to America's security. Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania said "What Toshiba and Kongsberg did was ransom the security of the United States for $517 million."

In 2001, Toshiba signed a contract with Orion Electric, one of the world's largest OEM consumer video electronic makers and suppliers, to manufacture and supply finished consumer TV and video products for Toshiba to meet the increasing demand for the North American market.

In December 2004, Toshiba quietly announced it would discontinue manufacturing traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions. In 2006, Toshiba terminated production of plasma TVs. Toshiba quickly switched to Orion as the supplier and maker of Toshiba-branded CRT-based TVs and plasma TVs. However, to ensure its future competitiveness in the flat-panel digital television and display market, Toshiba has made a considerable investment in a new kind of display technology called SED.

Before World War II, Toshiba was a member of the Mitsui Group zaibatsu. Today Toshiba is a member of the Mitsui keiretsu (a set of companies with interlocking business relationships and shareholdings), and still has preferential arrangements with Mitsui Bank and the other members of the keiretsu. Membership in a keiretsu traditionally meant loyalty, both corporate and private, to other members of the keiretsu or allied keiretsu. This loyalty could extend as far as the beer that workers would consume, which in Toshiba's case was Asahi.

In July 2005, BNFL confirmed it planned to sell Westinghouse Electric Company, then estimated to be worth $1.8bn (£1bn).[5] However the bid attracted interest from several companies including Toshiba, General Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and when the Financial Times reported on January 23, 2006 that Toshiba had won the bid, it valued the company's offer at $5bn (£2.8bn). The bid surprised many industry experts who questioned the wisdom of selling one of the world's largest producers of nuclear reactors shortly before the market for nuclear power is expected to grow substantially; China, the United States and the United Kingdom are all expected to invest heavily in nuclear power.[6] The acquisition of Westinghouse for $5.4bn was completed on October 17, 2006, with Toshiba obtaining a 77% share, and partners The Shaw Group a 20% share and Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. a 3% share

As a chip maker, Toshiba Semiconductors is a major player. During the eighties, it was one the two largest semiconductor companies (with NEC). During the nineties and up to now, Toshiba Semiconductors was almost always among the Top 5. In 2007, Toshiba Semiconductors is number 3, behind Intel and Samsung.

Also, in late 2007, Toshiba's logo replaced the former Discover Card logo on one of the screens atop One Times Square. It displays the iconic New Year's countdown on its screen, as well as messages, greetings, and advertisements for the company.

Current status

In March 2008, Toshiba announced that it had launched a new company in America called, "Toshiba America Nuclear Energy corp". The primary mission of the company is marketing and promoting advanced boiling water nuclear power plants and providing support for related services.

Toshiba is believed to prepare (together with the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry) the small (30MW) nuclear plant Toshiba 4S for installation at Galena, Alaska[7] and ever smaller (200KW) plants for Japan and Europe;[8] but the information about such plants does not appear on Toshiba's homepage Toshiba Worldwide.

Toshiba occupies good position in the worldwide marker of semiconductors, see Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking Year by Year.

In-house companies

  • Digital Products Group
  • Mobile Communications Company
  • Digital Media Network Company
  • Personal Computer & Network Company
  • Electronic Devices & Components Group
  • Semiconductor Company
  • Display Devices & Components Control Center
  • Infrastructure Systems Group
  • Toshiba Power Systems Company (Combined-cycle gas power plants, nuclear power plants, hydro-electric power plants, and associated components)

Corporate affairs

UPS involvement

After an image problem developed years ago when customers felt that the repair process for broken machines was too long, Toshiba partnered with the United Parcel Service (UPS) to design a better repair process. Customers are told to drop off their machines at a UPS Store, from which they will be shipped to Toshiba for repairs and then sent back to the customer. In reality, after dropping off their machines at a UPS Store, they are shipped off to a UPS-run repair facility, where UPS repairs the laptops themselves and ships them back to the customer from there. During this process, the laptops never enter Toshiba's hands although no such claim as such is ever purported.[10]

HD DVD

On Tuesday, February 19, 2008, Toshiba announced that it was to drop its format in the HD DVD 'war' with Sony and Pioneer-backed Blu-ray Disc devices.[11] Following a review of its business, Toshiba said it would stop production of HD DVD players and recorders.

The HD DVD format had suffered as major US film studios backed the Blu-ray format, which is being developed by electronics firm Sony and partners. Toshiba's President, Atsutoshi Nishida, announced "We concluded that a swift decision would be best [and] if we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win".

Toshiba continued to supply retailers with machines until the end of March 2008. Toshiba then continued to provide technical support to the estimated one million people worldwide who owned HD DVD players and recorders.

Toshiba's president has stated that the company has no intention to begin manufacturing Blu-ray disc players and he also said that Toshiba will "think about its role in online video-downloading more seriously". The press release stated the following; "Toshiba also intends to maintain collaborative relations with the companies who joined with Toshiba in working to build up the HD DVD market, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks Animation and major Japanese and European content providers on the entertainment side, as well as leaders in the IT industry, including Microsoft, Intel, and HP. Toshiba will study possible collaboration with these companies for future business opportunities, utilizing the many assets generated through the development of HD DVD."

The HD DVD versus Blu-ray battle has been likened to the VHS versus Betamax war of the 1980s. See also "Decline of HD DVD ".


Environmental Record

E-waste is something that negatively affects the environment due to improper discard of items such as computers, DVD players, and cell phones. [12] Most e-waste is hazardous to the environment because of its tendency to release toxic materials, such as lead and mercury, into soil and water, which later affects human, animal, and vegetation health. [13] Toshiba, however, has been making efforts to lessen their impact on the environment. They tied for first place in Greenpeace’s seventh edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics. [14] Greenpeace is an environmental protection organization that seeks to rank electronic companies based on their chemical use and recycling programs. [15] Toshiba received 7.7 points out of ten points possible, showing its improvement in recycling and chemical use since the last edition when it was only ranked number six. [16][17] Toshiba focused on improving their score in Individual Producer Responsibility (IPR), which measures how efficiently a company deals with e-waste that is created from their own products that are thrown away. [18] Toshiba also partnered with China’s Tsinghua University in 2008 in order to form a research facility to focus on energy conservation and the environment. [19] The new Toshiba Energy and Environment Research Center is located in Beijing where forty students from the university will work to research electric power equipment and new technologies that will help stop the global warming process. [20] Through this partnership, Toshiba hopes to develop products that will better protect the environment and save energy in China. [21] This contract between Tsinghua University and Toshiba originally began in October 2007 when they signed an agreement on joint energy and environment research. [22] The projects that they conduct work to reduce car pollution and to create power systems that don’t negatively affect the environment. [23]

Main competitors

Electronics

Nuclear Power Plants

Power Systems Division (Turbines)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Toshiba Corporation Earnings Release FY2007" (PDF).
  2. ^ Toshiba : Worldwide Top Page
  3. ^ "Gartner Says Worldwide PC Market Grew 13 Percent in 2007" (Press release). Gartner, Inc. 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-01-18. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Seeman, Roderick (April, 1987). "Toshiba Case—CoCom - Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Revision". The Japan Lawletter. Retrieved 2007-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "BNFL plans to sell Westinghouse". BBC News. 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "BNFL to sell US power plant arm". BBC News. 2004-01-23. Retrieved 2007-06-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ The Galena Project Technical Publications, Burns and Roe.
  8. ^ Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor. Next energy news.
  9. ^ Toshiba : Management Structure
  10. ^ "The Next Delivery? Computer Repairs by UPS". CNNMoney.com. July 1, 2004. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses" (Press release). Toshiba. 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2008-04-15. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ http://www.thejournalok.com/atf.php?sid=12418 The Journal May 1, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2008
  13. ^ http://www.thejournalok.com/atf.php?sid=12418 The Journal May 1, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2008
  14. ^ http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/105302 Heise Zeitschriften Verlag News March 19, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008
  15. ^ http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/105302 Heise Zeitschriften Verlag News March 19, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008
  16. ^ http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/105302 Heise Zeitschriften Verlag News March 19, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008
  17. ^ http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23537853-5013037,00.html Australian IT April 15, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  18. ^ http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,144482-c,recycling/article.html PC World April 12, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008
  19. ^ http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=17699 Japan’s Corporate Network April 14, 2008. Retrieved: April 27, 2008.
  20. ^ http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=17699 Japan’s Corporate Network April 14, 2008. Retrieved: April 27, 2008.
  21. ^ http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=17699 Japan’s Corporate Network April 14, 2008. Retrieved: April 27, 2008.
  22. ^ http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=17699 Japan’s Corporate Network April 14, 2008. Retrieved: April 27, 2008.
  23. ^ http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=17699 Japan’s Corporate Network April 14, 2008. Retrieved: April 27, 2008.
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