On 18th May 2022, Seiko Epson Corporation celebrated its 80th Anniversary. To mark the occasion, the Group is opening Epson Museum Suwa at its corporate Head Office in Suwa, Nagano, in Japan. The two-part museum, which consists of a renovated Monozukuri Museum and a new Memorial Hall, will give visitors a chance to learn about Epson’s history and products from the past. Memorial Hall is housed in what was the original administrative building, construction of which was completed in October 1945. This recently renovated historic building is now open to the public. A Special website to trace the company’s philosophy and history -https://80th.epson.com.
In his message, Yasunori Ogawa, President and CEO, Seiko Epson Corporation, said: “We would like to express sincere gratitude to our many customers and stakeholders for their support. We have always exercised creativity and challenged ourselves to deliver products and services that exceed the expectations of our customers around the world by drawing on the efficient, compact, and precision technologies we have developed and refined since the company was founded in 1942.”
Yasunori Ogawa further added in his message: “I believe that our purpose as a company is to contribute to society and employee happiness. I also believe that the two are inseparable. Taking care of our employees and contributing to society will generate confidence and pride internally that will drive us to further contribute to society. We will continue to work together with our many stakeholders to solve societal issues, achieve sustainability, and improve the quality of life around the world.”
He explains further: “In recent times, humans have faced crises such as climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. People have always sought enrichment, but I believe that many of the issues we are facing may have been caused by a desire for personal affluence at the expense of others. I think the world desires more than just material and economic wealth. People also want other, less tangible forms of wealth. They want to be enriched spiritually and culturally. Sustainability is a fundamental requirement for achieving this. Epson is committed to achieving sustainability and enriching communities by working with customers and partners. To that end, we renewed Epson 25 in March 2021. We are now operating under Epson 25 Renewed, which defines “achieving sustainability and enriching communities” as our aspirational goal. In the past, we sought to use our strong technologies to create innovative products. Going forward, we will also look to wield our technologies to solve societal issues, focusing particularly on overcoming global environmental challenges. In Epson 25 Renewed, we have redefined the primary materialities (priority issues as a corporation) as achieving sustainability in a circular economy, advancing the frontiers of industry, and improving the quality of life. We will address these materialities by driving innovation in five areas: office and home printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visuals, and lifestyle.”
In his message, Yasunori Ogawa further said that Epson’s inkjet technology and other efficient, compact, and precision technologies reduce environmental impacts and increase productivity. “I believe that these technologies, along with the new value they create, can play a major role in solving societal issues and in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. In addition, we will co-create sustainability and enrich communities by connecting people, things and information through digital technologies.”
He concludes his message by saying that Epson, long a strong proponent of environmental action, has also revised Environmental Vision 2050. “Our stated goals are to become carbon negative and underground resource-free by 2050. The actions we take will help to make the world a better place.”
Epson’s 80th Anniversary Historical paper narrates that Epson embarked on its journey as a watch parts manufacturer near the shore of Lake Suwa. The company’s founder pledged never to pollute Lake Suwa. And the current management, under the leadership of Minoru Usui, Chairman and Director, continues to honor the founder’s pledge.
Epson’s journey began in an old miso warehouse from the vision of Hisao Yamazaki and his nine employees. Epson grew up there surrounded by Lake Suwa and the highlands of the Yatsugatake Mountains. The clean water and fresh air were perfect places to produce precision instruments. But the region was never wealthy. So, historically speaking, Hisao Yamazaki, the company’s founder, saw potential in the place where the raw silk industry once flourished. He envisioned a new industry that would restore vitality to the area and the lives of locals. Yamazaki returned to the area to take over the family business. Together with Suwa’s Mayor and other prominent business leaders, Yamazaki approached Shoji Hattori, the Managing Director of Daini Seikosha (now Seiko Instruments) with the prospect of developing more precision instruments.
The group believed that Suwa’s climate was like Switzerland’s with low summer humidity, so it would be a perfect environment for a precision industry. They believed that Suwa could be the Switzerland of the East and began clock assembly operations. The company had only nine employees.
Hisao Yamazaki’s vision is still alive today. Yamazaki’s passion for establishing a Japanese watch industry led him to collect parts in the late 1940s. If he didn’t have certain parts, he made them. By January 21, 1946, he had the parts to assemble four timepieces, which were completed the next day after a night of assembly. Only two of the four watches worked, but this would pave the road with an ethos of experimentation that lives on at Epson. Yamazaki showed strong resolve by proclaiming, “I’m going to pour my heart and soul into this. We’ve got to all come together to ensure this business takes root here.” This emotional greeting still inspires Epson today. Later Shoji Hattori, who became Chairperson, would describe Yamazaki as a man of integrity and effort. Yamazaki’s attitude still permeates Epson’s corporate culture.
Epson’s predecessor, Daiwa Kogyo, Ltd., was founded in May 1942. Over the ensuing eight decades, the company evolved while passing on its DNA as an innovator and manufacturer. Refining the micromachining and precision processing technologies Epson developed for watches and deploying them in other areas is what fueled the company’s growth. The origin of the present Avtar of Seiko Epson Corporation established in1985, can be traced to the formation of Daiwa Kogyo Ltd in 1942. Earlier there was a separate entity called Epson Corp established in 1982, and Seiko Epson Corp came into existence by a merger of Epson Corp and Suwa Seikosha Co Ltd (estd 1959).
Epson has renovated the original administrative building from the founding era and it will be reopened as Memorial Hall to allow visitors to step back in time to experience the history and stories of products from a bygone era. Exhibits in Memorial Hall cover the period to the 1970s, the time during which the building was used. From the technology and skills that go into mechanical watches to the world’s first quartz watch, to the compact EP-101 digital printer from which the Epson brand name is derived, visitors will be given a retrospective look at the efficient, compact, and precision technologies that Epson has developed since its founding.
At Epson’s Museum Suwa Memorial Hall at Monozukuri Museum, 3-3-5 Owa, Suwa, Nagano, Japan, will have Scenes of production at the time of founding; Advances in mechanical watches and the technology and skills surrounding them; The story of the development of the quartz watch; The advent and development of a compact digital printer; Products and technology lineage; An introduction to the Epson 25 Renewed corporate vision; Epson’s five areas of innovation; Hands-on printing experience. There will be an Exhibition of original mechanical watches and manufacturing equipment and; Exhibition of quartz timepieces reduced to a compact, portable size.
In the world of printing technology, Epson does not need any introduction. Today, Epson employs around 77,000 people worldwide, and global corporate sales exceed one trillion yen.
It is a global technology leader dedicated to co-creating sustainability and enriching communities by leveraging its efficient, compact, and precision technologies and digital technologies to connect people, things, and information. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson aspires to become carbon negative and eliminate the use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050.
Epson’s products range includes Printing Solutions, Office & Home Printing, Commercial & Industrial Printing (including large format digital printers for signage, textile and sublimation printing), DTG, Visual Communication, Manufacturing-related & Wearables, Manufacturing solutions, Wearable products, Microdevices etc. Epson has sales and marketing sites, service sites, as well as production and R&D sites around the globe, to accurately identify, and swiftly and flexibly meet the needs of customers in different regions.
Epson is refining its Micro Piezo inkjet technology and conducting further research and development so that the technology can be used not only in home inkjet printers but also in printer applications for users in the office, commercial, industrial, and other higher-productivity printing segments. Piezo technology deposits microscopic droplets of ink using the mechanical motion of piexoelectric elements. Epson’s Micro Piezo printheads automatically sense the condition of nozzles to maintain high print quality.
Epson’s inkjet technology is used in many different printing applications. In addition to home and office inkjet printer products, our technology is used in a variety of industrial applications, including the printing of posters both large and small, signage, textiles, labels, photos, and much more. This technology is currently being used to print on more than just paper and fabric. It is being used in the electronics field in the fabrication of liquid crystal display panels and to deposit thin-film resist patterns. It is even used in the food industry for things such as decoration and seasoning.
Epson SureColor T-series large format colour printers that print precise technical line drawings, blueprints and short-term signages. SureColor B and S-series are used to create everything from simple signage to high-end displays and décor on a range of substrates. Epson signage printers deliver superior results for a wide variety of commercial applications, all in the shortest possible time.
Epson’s Indian subsidiary Epson India Pvt. Ltd has offices in Bangalore, New Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, and Cochin.