Toshiba

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Toshiba Corporation
株式会社東芝
Type Public
Traded as TYO: 6502
JASDAQ: 6502
NSE: 6502
LSE: TOS
Industry Conglomerate
Founded 1875 (Tanaka Seizo-sho)
1890 (Hakunetsu-sha & Co)
1939 (merger of Shibaura Seisaku-sho and Tokyo Denki)
Headquarters Shibaura, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Area served Worldwide
Key people Atsutoshi Nishida (Chairman)
Norio Sasaki
(President)[1]
Products Electronics
Semiconductors
Social infrastructure
Computer hardware
Home appliances
Medical equipment
Electrical equipment
Elevators and escalators
Office equipment
Lighting
Services IT services
Logistics
Revenue Decrease ¥6.204 trillion (2012)[2]
Operating income Increase ¥311.1 billion (2012)[2]
Net income Decrease ¥73.70 billion (2012)[2]
Total assets Increase ¥5.731 trillion (2012)[2]
Total equity Increase ¥867.2 billion (2012)[2]
Employees 209,784 (2012)[2]
Subsidiaries Toshiba America, Inc.
Toshiba Asia Pacific Pte., Ltd.
Toshiba China Co., Ltd.
Toshiba of Europe Ltd.
(See full list)
Website Toshiba Worldwide

Toshiba Corporation (株式会社東芝 Kabushiki-gaisha Tōshiba?) is a Japanese multinational engineering and electronics conglomerate corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Its products and services include information technology and communications equipment and systems, electronic components and materials, power systems, industrial and social infrastructure systems, household appliances, medical equipment, office equipment, lighting and logistics.

Toshiba was founded in 1939 as Tokyo Shibaura Electric K.K. through the merger of Shibaura Seisaku-sho (founded in 1875) and Tokyo Denki (founded in 1890). The company name was officially changed to Toshiba Corporation in 1978. Toshiba has made numerous corporate acquisitions during its history, including of Semp in 1977, of Westinghouse Electric Company in 2006, of Landis+Gyr in 2011, and of IBM's point-of-sale business in 2012.

Toshiba is organised into four main business groupings: the Digital Products Group, the Electronic Devices Group, the Home Appliances Group and the Social Infrastructure Group. In 2010, Toshiba was the world's fifth-largest personal computer vendor measured by revenues (after Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Acer and Lenovo).[3] In the same year, it was also the world's fourth-largest manufacturer of semiconductors by revenues (after Intel Corporation, Samsung Electronics and Texas Instruments).

Toshiba is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices, the Osaka Securities Exchange, the Nagoya Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.

Contents

History[edit]

1939 to 2000[edit]

Toshiba was founded in 1939 by the merger of Shibaura Seisakusho (Shibaura Engineering Works) [4] and Tokyo Denki (Tokyo Electric). Shibaura Seisakusho had been founded as Tanaka Seisakusho by Tanaka Hisashige in 1875 as Japan's first manufacturer of telegraph equipment.[5] In 1904, it was renamed Shibaura Seisakusho. Through the first decades of the 20th century Shibaura Seisakusho had become a major manufacturer of heavy electrical machinery as Japan modernized during the Meiji Era and became a world industrial power. Tokyo Denki was founded as Hakunetsusha in 1890 and had been Japan's first producer of incandescent electric lamps. It later diversified into the manufacture of other consumer products and in 1899 had been renamed Tokyo Denki. The merger of Shibaura and Tokyo Denki created a new company called Tokyo Shibaura Denki (Tokyo Shibaura Electric) (東京芝浦電気). It was soon nicknamed Toshiba, but it was not until 1978 that the company was officially renamed Toshiba Corporation.

The old logo used by Toshiba, mainly on Japan-made products
The Toshiba pavilion at Expo '85.

The group expanded rapidly, driven by a combination of organic growth and by acquisitions, buying heavy engineering and primary industry firms in the 1940s and 1950s. Groups created include Toshiba Music Industries/Toshiba EMI (1960), Toshiba International Corporation (1970s) Toshiba Electrical Equipment (1974), Toshiba Chemical (1974), Toshiba Lighting and Technology (1989), Toshiba America Information Systems (1989) and Toshiba Carrier Corporation (1999).

Toshiba is 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 1977, Toshiba acquired the Brazilian company Semp (Sociedade Eletromercantil Paulista), subsequently forming Semp Toshiba through the combination of the two companies' South American operations.

In 1987, Tocibai Machine, a 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 certain countries to COMECON 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.[6] Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania said "What Toshiba and Kongsberg did was ransom the security of the United States for $517 million."

2000 to 2010[edit]

The current Toshiba headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan

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. The contract ended in 2008, ending 7 years of OEM production with Orion.

In December 2004, Toshiba quietly announced it would discontinue manufacturing traditional in-house cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions. In 2006, Toshiba terminated production of in-house plasma TVs. 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 (family-controlled vertical monopoly). 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 has traditionally meant loyalty, both corporate and private, to other members of the keiretsu or allied keiretsu. This loyalty can extend as far as the beer the employees consume, which in Toshiba's case is Asahi.

In July 2005, BNFL confirmed it planned to sell Westinghouse Electric Company, then estimated to be worth $1.8 billion (£1 billion).[7] 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 $5 billion (£2.8 billion). The sale of Westinghouse by the Government of the United Kingdom 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 was expected to grow substantially; China, the United States and the United Kingdom are all expected to invest heavily in nuclear power.[8] 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.

In late 2007, Toshiba took over from Discover Card as the sponsor of the top-most screen of One Times Square in New York City.[9] It displays the iconic 60-second New Year's countdown on its screen, as well as messages, greetings, and advertisements for the company.

In January 2009, Toshiba acquired the HDD business of Fujitsu.[10][11]

2010 to present[edit]

Toshiba announced on May 16, 2011, that it had agreed to acquire all of the shares of the Swiss-based advanced-power-meter maker Landis+Gyr for $2.3 billion.[12]

In April 2012, Toshiba agreed to acquire IBM's point-of-sale business for $850 million, making it the world's largest vendor of point-of-sale systems.[13][14]

In July 2012, Toshiba was accused of fixing the prices of LCD panels at a high level, in US. While such claims are denied by Toshiba,[15] they have agreed to settle alongside several other manufacturers for a total of $571 million.[16]

Operations[edit]

The headquarters of Toshiba TEC in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
The headquarters of Toshiba Elevator in Tokyo, Japan
The Toshiba research and development facility in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Toshiba Europe offices in Neuss, Germany

Toshiba is headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan and has operations worldwide. It had around 210,000 employees as of 31 March 2012.[17]

Toshiba is organised into four main business groupings: the Digital Products Group, the Electronic Devices Group, the Home Appliances Group and the Social Infrastructure Group.[17] In the year ended 31 March 2012, Toshiba had total revenues of ¥6,100.3 billion, of which 25.2% was generated by the Digital Products Group, 24.5% by the Electronic Devices Group, 8.7% by the Home Appliances Group, 36.6% by the Social Infrastructure Group and 5% by other activities. In the same year, 45% of Toshiba's sales were generated in Japan and 55% in the rest of the world.[17]

Toshiba has 39 R&D facilities worldwide, which employ around 4,180 people.[17] Toshiba invested a total of ¥319.9 billion in R&D in the year ended 31 March 2012, equivalent to 5.2% of sales.[17] Toshiba registered a total of 2,483 patents in the United States in 2011, the fifth-largest number of any company (after IBM, Samsung Electronics, Canon and Panasonic).[17]

Principal business groupings, divisions and subsidiaries[edit]

Toshiba is organised into the following principal business groupings, divisions and subsidiaries:

  • Digital Products Group
  • Digital Products and Services Company
  • Network & Solution Control Center
  • Toshiba TEC Corporation
  • Electronic Devices Group
  • Semiconductor & Storage Products Company
  • Discrete Semiconductor Division
  • Analog & Imaging IC Division
  • Logic LSI Division
  • Memory Division
  • Storage Products Division
  • Center For Semiconductor Research & Development
  • ODD Division (Formed partnership with ODD division of Samsung Electronics as Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology Corporation)[18][19][20]
  • Toshiba Mobile Display Co., Ltd. (This company will be merged with Hitachi Displays, Ltd. and Sony Mobile Display Corporation to form Japan Display Inc. in Spring of 2012.[21])
  • Social Infrastructure Group
  • Power Systems Company (Combined-cycle gas power plants, nuclear power plants, hydro-electric power plants, and associated components)
  • Nuclear Energy Systems & Services Division
  • Westinghouse Electric Company (Acquired October 2006)
  • Thermal & Hydro Power Systems & Services Division
  • Power and Industrial Systems Research and Development Center
  • Social Infrastructure Systems Company[22]
  • Transmission & Distribution Systems Division
  • Railway & Automotive Systems Division
  • Railway Systems Division
  • Automotive Systems Division
  • Motor & Drive Systems Division
  • Automation Products & Facility Solution Division
  • Defense & Electronic Systems Division
  • Environmental Systems Division
  • Home Appliances Group
  • Toshiba Home Appliances Corporation
  • Toshiba Lighting & Technology Corporation
  • Harison Toshiba Lighting Corporation
  • Toshiba Carrier Corporation
  • Others
  • New Lighting Systems Division
  • Smart Community Division
  • Materials & Devices Division

Products, services and standards[edit]

Toshiba offers a wide range of products and services, including air conditioners,[23] consumer electronics (including televisions and DVD and Blu-ray players),[24] control systems (including air-traffic control systems, railway systems, security systems and traffic control systems),[25] electronic point of sale equipment,[26] elevators and escalators,[27] home appliances (including refrigerators and washing machines),[23] IT services,[28] lighting,[23][29] materials and electronic components,[30] medical equipment (including CT and MRI scanners, ultrasound equipment and X-ray equipment),[31] office equipment,[26] personal computers,[24] semiconductors,[32] power systems (including electricity turbines, fuel cells and nuclear reactors)[33] power transmission and distribution systems,[25] and TFT displays.[34]

3D television[edit]

In October 2010, Toshiba unveiled the Toshiba Regza GL1 21" LED backlit LCD TV glasses-free 3D prototype at CEATEC 2010. This system supports 3D capability without glasses (utilising an integral imaging system of 9 parallax images with vertical lenticular sheet). The retail product was released in December 2010.[35]

HD DVD[edit]

For more details on this topic, see HD DVD.

On February 19, 2008, Toshiba announced that would be discontinuing its HD DVD storage format following defeat in a format 'war' against Blu-ray.[36] The HD DVD format had failed after most of the major US film studios backed the Blu-ray format, which was developed by Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer and others. 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, and continued to provide technical support to the estimated one million people worldwide who owned HD DVD players and recorders. Toshiba announced a new line of stand-alone Blu-ray players as well as drives for PCs and laptops, and subsequently joined the BDA, the industry body which oversees development of the Blu-ray format.[37]

REGZA[edit]

File:Toshiba REGZA.jpg

REGZA (Real Expression Guaranteed by Amazing Architecture) is a unified television brand owned and manufactured by Toshiba.[38] REGZA name was eliminated in 2010 for the North American market citing switch in television production to Compal Electronics.

REGZA is also used in Android-based smartphones that were developed by Fujitsu Toshiba Mobile Communications.

Environmental record[edit]

Toshiba has been making efforts to lessen their impact on the environment. In March 2008, they tied for first place in Greenpeace’s seventh edition of its Guide to Greener Electronics that ranks electronics companies according to their policies on toxic chemicals, recycling and climate change.[39][39] 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.[39][40] 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.[41]

In Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics from November 2011 Toshiba ranked joint 13th (alongside LGE) out of 15 leading electronics manufacturers. In the revised edition the company benefited from having 2 penalty points lifted, one for backtracking on a commitment to make its new products PVC and BFR free by 2010, and the other for misleading its customers and Greenpeace by not admitting it would not meet this commitment. Despite this, Toshiba still scored badly, performing worst on the Energy section where it was criticized for not having a clean energy strategy and for not providing external verification of data on its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.[42]

The company fared better on Sustainable Operations being praised for providing data on its global recycling rates for TVs and PCs alongside a detailed breakdown. It was noted for having a detailed chemicals management programme and providing estimates of GHG emissions from each stage of a product’s lifecycle for its whole range of products.[42]

Toshiba reports that all of its new LCD TVs comply with the Energy Star standards and 34 models exceed the requirements by 30% or more.[43]

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.[44] 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.[44] Through this partnership, Toshiba hopes to develop products that will better protect the environment and save energy in China.[44] This contract between Tsinghua University and Toshiba originally began in October 2007 when they signed an agreement on joint energy and environment research.[44] The projects that they conduct work to reduce car pollution and to create power systems that don’t negatively affect the environment.[44]

On December 28, 1970 Toshiba began the construction of unit 3 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant[45] which was damaged in the Fukushima I nuclear accidents on March 14, 2011. In April 2011 CEO Norio Sasaki declared nuclear energy would "remain as a strong option" even after the Fukishima I nuclear accidents.[46]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Directors and Executives". Toshiba. Retrieved January 2, 2012. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Earnings Release FY2010". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 2011-05-09. 
  3. ^ "Gartner Says Worldwide PC Market Grew 13 Percent in 2007" (Press release). Economic Times. January 16, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010. 
  4. ^ http://www.shibaura.co.jp/e/company/history.html
  5. ^ Odagiri, Hiroyuki (1996). Technology and Industrial Development in Japan. Clarendon Press, Oxford. p. 158. ISBN 0-19-828802-6. 
  6. ^ Seeman, Roderick (April 1987). "Toshiba Case—CoCom - Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Revision". The Japan Lawletter. Retrieved Sepotember18, 2007. 
  7. ^ "BNFL plans to sell Westinghouse". BBC News. 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
  8. ^ "BNFL to sell US power plant arm". BBC News. January 23, 2004. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
  9. ^ "Back in Times Square, Toshiba Stands Tall". The New York Times. 3 December 2007. Retrieved November 20, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Toshiba and Fujitsu reach HDD deal: Nikkei" (Press release). Reuters. January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009. 
  11. ^ "Toshiba to Acquire Fujitsu's Hard-disk Drive Business". PC World. February 17, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2012. 
  12. ^ "Toshiba to Buy Swiss Power Meter Maker". The Wall Street Journal. May 20, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2011. 
  13. ^ "Toshiba in $850m deal to buy IBM's point-of-sale unit". BBC News. April 18, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012. 
  14. ^ "Toshiba to buy IBM's point-of-sale terminal business". Reuters. April 16, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012. 
  15. ^ "Toshiba". July 4, 2012. 
  16. ^ "Toshiba". July 12, 2012. 
  17. ^ a b c d e f "Annual Report Operational Review - Year ended March 31, 2012". Toshiba. Retrieved May 30, 2012. 
  18. ^ Toshiba : ODD Division
  19. ^ Samsung and Toshiba ... (TSST Corp).
  20. ^ Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology
  21. ^ INCJ, Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba Sign Definitive Agreements Regarding Integration of Small- and Medium-Sized Display Businesses
  22. ^ Toshiba : Management Structure
  23. ^ a b c "Toshiba Consumer Electronics Holdings Corporation". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  24. ^ a b "Digital Products & Services Company". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  25. ^ a b "Social Infrastructure Systems Company". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  26. ^ a b "Toshiba TEC Corporation". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  27. ^ "Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  28. ^ "Toshiba Solutions Corporation". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  29. ^ "New Lighting Systems Division". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  30. ^ "Materials & Devices Division". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  31. ^ "Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  32. ^ "Semiconductor & Storage Products Company". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  33. ^ "Power Systems Company". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  34. ^ "Toshiba Mobile Display Co., Ltd.". Toshiba Corporation. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  35. ^ Vlad Savov. "Toshiba Regza GL1 wants you to put down the glasses, enjoy the 3D". Engadget. 
  36. ^ "Toshiba Announces Discontinuation of HD DVD Businesses" (Press release). Toshiba. February 19, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2008. 
  37. ^ "Toshiba joins Blu-ray disc camp". BBC News. August 10, 2009. Retrieved January 6, 2010. 
  38. ^ "About Regza". Retrieved November 1, 2012. 
  39. ^ a b c "Heise Zeitschriften". Verlag News. March 19, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
  40. ^ "It's not so hard being green". Australian IT. April 15, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
  41. ^ Jenalyn Rubio (April 12, 2008). "Tech Goes Greener". PC World. Retrieved April 18, 2008. 
  42. ^ a b "Guide to Greener Electronics - Greenpeace International". Greenpeace International. Retrieved November 16, 2011. 
  43. ^ "Development of Environmentally Conscious Products: Toshiba Visual Products Company / Toshiba Storage Products Company Environmental Conservation Activities". Toshiba. Retrieved August 17, 2010. 
  44. ^ a b c d e "Japan’s Corporate Network". April 14, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008. 
  45. ^ "Nuclear Reactor Maps: Fukushima-Daiichi". Nuclear Transparency in the Asia Pacific. Retrieved March 21, 2011. 
  46. ^ Yasu, Mariko; Maki Shiraki (April 22, 2011). "Silver lining in sight for makers of solar panels". The Japan Times online. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011. "For Toshiba, Japan's biggest maker of nuclear reactors, atomic energy still has the edge over other power sources. "Even if we hypothetically say an accident occurs once in every 30 years and that we need to consider the cost for radiation leak problems, we're also left with an issue of reducing carbon dioxide," Toshiba President Norio Sasaki said in Tokyo last week. "Nuclear power will remain as a strong option."" 

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