Who is the founder of casio

In Casio's Kofu factory became the first Japanese plant to mass produce electronic calculators. Very few of these early Japanese electronic calculators were destined for the U. In the United States imported just 69 electronic calculators from Japan, and in Japanese calculators accounted for less than one percent of the U.

Casio did not begin to market its own products in the United States until In the s Japanese electronic products, particularly consumer electronics, began to capture a larger share of the ever-expanding U. By the mids Japanese electronic manufacturers came to dominate the U.

Japanese companies competed fiercely for market share, and eventually only Sharp and Casio were left. Casio aimed for the bottom of the market, selling small, low-cost calculators with a variety of novel functions. The calculator division grew steadily, manufacturing standard electronic calculators, high-performance scientific calculators, pocket computers, and digital diary systems.

Electronic notepads and digital diaries greatly expanded Casio's markets, particularly its domestic sales. The electronic-timepiece division also prospered, making a variety of digital and analog watches, many with built-in memory and storage features. By the s Japan had become the world's leading electronics exporter while the United States was the largest consumer of electronic products. While U. After years of market expansion during the s and s, however, Casio found that market demand in timepieces became stagnant.

As a result of market saturation, Casio introduced a number of new timepieces to maintain market demand during the late s, including such products as watches that measured altitude, depth, and barometric pressure; phonedialing watches; and watches that could record caloric consumption or serve as a pedometer. The electronic-musical-instrument division manufactured such products as electronic keyboards and digital synthesizers, guitar synthesizers, digital horns, and other sound generators.

One of the Kashio brothers, Toshio, was responsible for the company's move into electronic instruments. He had been interested in mass-marketing musical instruments for a while, but manufacturing costs were too steep.

However, new chip technology that was developed in the late s made cheaper electronic instruments possible. Casio engineers began to develop electronic pianos at this time. They were marketed to amateur players who couldn't or wouldn't afford a traditional piano. Casio introduced electronic keyboards into the U. In , the total number of electronic keyboards sold in the United States numbered less than , By , American consumers bought close to five million. By the end of the decade, Casio had captured roughly 55 percent of the electronic instrument market.

Its pianos were principally low-cost products, but they provided lots of effects. With digital sampling and memory, keyboards could store dozens of sounds, songs, and patterns.

Musical products suffered from potential market saturation, however, and the company lavished millions on advertising in order to keep its products fresh in consumers' minds. Kazuo Kashio was one of the four brothers who founded Casio Computer in I was privileged to interview Mr. In his large office in the heart of the bustling Shibuya district, surrounded by picture windows with breathtaking views of the Tokyo skyline, Kashio recalled the huge and somewhat unexpected splash the first G-Shock made when it was released in the U.

With its shock resistance and durability, it was intended to be a casual watch. The Baby-G became a fashion icon, while the G-Shock remained the choice for the adventurous and the outdoorsy types. While Casio watches were taking the world by storm, the reputation for their other products continued to gain ground too, and Casio continues to produce calculators and electronic instruments to this day.

But what does the future hold for Casio? As with any innovative electronics company, they continue to innovate. Their watches are still being developed and fine-tuned, and they are releasing more advanced styles to compete with other competitors on the market.

We use cookies on our site to serve personalised ads and content. I opt-in to a better browsing experience Accept Cookies. The branch manager who had seen the presentation in Sapporo had told his head office to investigate the new invention.

Since Uchida Yoko had subcontracted work to Kashio Seisakujo in the past, the company already had confidence in the Kashio brothers. Now seven years of hard work in development had suddenly paid off. The brothers asked their father, Shigeru, to fill the position of President, which he accepted.

With the relay calculator enjoying strong sales to large corporations and research institutions, Casio continued to grow. In order to meet the growing demand, a new factory was built in Yamato-machi, entering full production in Energy was also put into the development of new products, and new types of calculators were released one after another, including the TUC Compuwriter, an automatic form output device that connected to an electric typewriter, and the AL-1 calculator for scientific and technological use.

Casio continued to lead the market. Exclusive dealer contract with Uchida Yoko Co. Release of the , an electronic desktop calculator with onboard memory. Just as the company was achieving strong earnings with the relay calculator, a new wave of technological innovation arrived. An electronic calculator with vacuum tubes first appeared in Great Britain, and before long, many Japanese manufacturers followed with calculators using the newly invented transistors.

Electronic calculators were much faster than relay models, completely silent, and were even small enough to fit on top of a desk. With the arrival of this electronic model, sales of relay calculators fell dramatically, leaving a mountain of unsold inventory.

Casio had done some research on transistor-based electronic calculators, but accustomed to strong sales of relay calculators, the company had fallen behind others in transistor development, and now found itself in the first crisis since its establishment.

When it was announced that newly developed relay calculators were intended to compete with electronic models, the dealers who were there insisted that the relay era was over and wanted to know why Casio was not coming out with an electronic model. After much internal debate, the company decided to exhibit a transistor model prototype that had been secretly developed.

Even though the prototype still had wiring sticking out, it won overwhelmingly enthusiastic approval. After making ten or more prototypes, they completed Japan's first electric calculator in Electronic desktop calculators exported overseas for the first time. Due to strong sales in Japan, offers began to come in from overseas for the Casio desktop electronic calculator. Seeing a good opportunity to expand abroad, Casio developed the Casio with improvements for the overseas market, and in exported its first calculator to Australia.