Corporate History

Sanden’s founder, Kaihei Ushikubo, who had been running a textile mill, started manufacturing components of communication devices and mica-condensers in July 1943, when Japan was fighting in World War II and the private sector manufacturing plants were enforced either to shift themselves to ammunition producing plants or close their business. This is how the predecessor company of Sanden, called Sankyo Electric Company, was created with a capital of \198,000. After the war, having taken cues from employees who had been riding bicycles to work, the company changed its business to develop dynamo lighting sets for bicycles. It had run a sales campaign for dynamo bicycle lamps with a trademark “Owl” shining in the darkness, and with the slogans “Second sight in the night” and “A thousand times brighter than a full moon ”. It marked a monthly production of 30 thousand units in 1953, thereby establishing itself as a permanent fixture in the dynamo bicycle lamp business sector.

JIS was established for the dynamo lamp in April 1952 with the development of the economy as well as the industry. The low-voltage method that prolonged the lamp’s life introduced by Sankyo Electric was adopted as JIS standard. The company started exporting the dynamo bicycle lamp in 1953. Thereafter, it entered the electric home appliance business, aiming to grow from a back-street factory into a modernized company. It further entered the market for refrigerating machines for business use. Engineering staff of the company who sensitively perceived customers’ needs succeeded in developing an open-type showcase for the first time in the industry, which became a hot-selling product.

With robust sales of freezers and refrigerated showcases, the company developed an original bubbler juice vending machine in October 1961. The company, which had cemented its position through its freezing technology, listed its stocks on the second section of Tokyo Stock Exchange in August 1962. It further developed oil heaters in July 1963. Thereafter, it succeeded in developing a clean forced ventilation type heater that did not pollute the air in the room for the first time in the world. It consistently accumulated technologies both in cooling and heating areas of business.

While the company continued development of new products based on its refrigerating and ventilation technologies, it received an offer for technical collaboration for small-scale compressors from Mitchell Corporation in 1969. Taking this opportunity, it started to produce car compressors in 1970 and entered the Automotive air-conditioner market. It listed its stocks on the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange, after much anticipation, in 1973. And it changed its trade name to “Sanden”. Thereafter, it established overseas bases one after the other in the U.S., Singapore, and in European countries. Sanden consistently expanded its production and sales of compressors all over the world.

It developed a scroll-type compressor for the first time in the world in 1981 and also changed its company name to Sanden Corporation (the same as its brand name) from Sankyo Electric co., Ltd. in 1982. Its head office introduced its “CI” with the completion of the new company building. The company blossomed as an enterprise committed to global competition both in reality and in name. It acquired Vendo Company, the second largest vending machine maker in the United States, in 1988, thereby becoming a global enterprise holding production and sales bases all over the world.

Environmental issues became an important theme to tackle for Sanden in the approach to the 21st century. The company had been working on the development of a compressor for Automotive air-conditioners that responded to ozone layer destruction problems, and energy-saving type vending machines for which it was awarded a prize by the Director-General of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy. Sanden had also addressed environmental issues closer to people on an individual level by developing an automated hand sterilizer and deodorant apparatus. Sanden has been continuously developing products which would make the lives of future generations worldwide more comfortable by retaining the “indomitable spirit” it has created through its ongoing efforts and endeavors.