Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd
The Oppama Shipyard of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd, designed for building super large ships, is constructed on reclaimed land at Oppama, Yokosuka,situated at the entrance to Tokyo Bay. Since the first ship completion in September 1972, the Oppama Shipyard has delivered a large number of modernocean going vessels. A unique feature of this shipyard is its dual-entrance building dock, with intermediate caissons, where two huge ships can be built at the same time, and the ships are alternately launched as they are completed. Oppama Shipyard was renamed Yokosuka Works in 1997. In April 2003 the shipbuilding division was split up and subsequently, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine & Engineering Co., Ltd. was established.
More than 1,300 ships have been built since the inauguration of the business. In recent years this business unit of the SHI Group has specialized in mid-size tankers, building ships with high added value that require sophisticated technological capabilities. The unit's past achievements include building the first double-acting tanker and double-hull tanker in the world, the largest refrigerated cargo vessel in the world, car transport vessels, and a grab dredger that has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. The unit also built two large sailing ships used for training, the Nippon Maru and Kaio Maru, which are the proud achievements of Japan.
The Defense System Group business unit of the SHI Group manufactures defense equipment products for the Ministry of Defense. These products created through the use of state-of-the-art technologies, such as those featuring high-precision targeting functions, contribute to the security of Japan.
Known initially as Izumi-ya, Sumitomo began its operations in the fields of copper refining, trading, and mining. Its Shikoku Besshi Copper Mine first opened in 1691, and by 1888, mining operations had expanded enough to warrant the introduction of the "shop practices" concept as a way of manufacturing and repairing equipment and tools used at the mine. This marked the beginning of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd.
The company went through several name changes during the course of its history, first with the change to Kikaika (or "Machinery Division") in 1894, and then to Niihama Seisakusho (or "Niihama Works") in 1928. The company was established as an independent public corporation in 1934 under the name of Sumitomo Machinery Co., Ltd. In 1940, its name was again changed to Sumitomo Kikai Kogyo Co., Ltd. (or "Sumitomo Machinery Industries").
In 1969, the company joined forces with Uraga Heavy Industries, Ltd., a company first established as Uraga Dock Co., Ltd. in 1897 with the advocacy of Takeaki Enomoto. After the merger, the company, now operating under the name of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., opened up two large-scale plants, the Oppama Shipyard (currently known as the Yokosuka Works) and Toyo Works, establishing its foundations as a heavy industries company.
Sumitomo Heavy Industries has always strived for technological innovation and applies cutting-edge technologies wherever possible. The company operates in a broad range of business areas ranging from manufacturing equipment and infrastructure to fields making use of the latest advanced technology. Most recently, the company's research and development efforts have focused on fine, mechatronics, and systems technologies and by doing so it has been able to gain a foothold in the areas of precision control devices and key components. For example, the company has succeeded in developing equipment for the manufacturing of LCDs and semiconductors as well as digital home appliances. This new area of business is positioned to become the third core competency for the company after power transmission equipment and plastics machinery.
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