History

Sanyo Trading’s history of pursuing the best solutions for customer success, driven by an open, down-to-earth, and entrepreneurial corporate culture

Gets on a fast growth track after founding
When the Mitsui zaibatsu (family-run conglomerate) was ordered to dissolve after the war, Sanyo Trading Co., Ltd. was established in 1947 by former employees of the Kobe branch of Mitsui & Co., Ltd. At the time of its founding, Eiichi Tamaki, the president of the company, was the only member well-versed in the trading business, and it was his professional background and determination that got the company off the ground. In the late 1940s, Sanyo Trading was designated by Public Corporation for Ironworks Trade as an official agent for importing and rationing out rubber. The company expanded its import business by becoming sole distributors for Japan on behalf of several foreign manufacturers. Having survived an economic downturn with financial support of banks, Sanyo Trading grew into a leading trading company in Japan. As an entity independent of corporate groups, the company fostered an open and inclusive culture that encouraged its employees to fulfill their potential and pursued its own path.

Down-to-earth approach to business propels the company into a global arena In the 1960s, as the majority of the company’s thriving business came to be conducted out of its Tokyo office, Sanyo Trading relocated its head office from Kobe to Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, in 1964. With the establishment of subsidiaries in diverse sectors, Sanyo Trading evolved into a prominent corporate group. Geographically, its operations expanded into a global arena, with offices in Bangkok, Detroit, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, and New York. When a bubble economy, which had started in Japan in the late 1980s, collapsed in the early 1990s, it was the beginning of a long period of economic lethargy for the nation. While many other Japan-based trading companies were burdened with mounting bad loans from failed speculative investments they had made during the booming economy, Sanyo Trading, focused on its core trading business, was free from bad loans and managed to weather the economic downturn unscathed. It paid off to hold on to its down-to-earth management ethos.

The company chooses to focus on what it can excel at and goes public to accelerate growth Just before the turn of the century, Sanyo Trading made a bold strategic move by discontinuing its pesticide business, which had long been one of its core businesses but had been losing money as it was prone to fluctuations in the market prices of the primary commodities. The company chose to focus on profitable business lines. One of them was the fast-growing industrial products business that imports auto interior parts for Japanese automakers. This strategic realignment proved vital for the growth of the Sanyo Trading Group. Another strategic move was going public in the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2012. The company’s stock listing was upgraded to the first section in the following year. Having the company’s stock listed was a challenging endeavor but, combined with a series of aggressive acquisitions of blue-chip companies, turned out to be a key growth driver for the Group. When the Tokyo Stock Exchange reorganized its market segments into the Prime, Standard, and Growth Markets in 2022, Sanyo Trading’s stock was listed on the top-tier Prime Market, which is for enterprises that maintain a higher level of stock liquidity and governance practices and are committed to sustained growth based on constructive dialogues with investors.

Committed to pursuing the best solutions for customer success Today, Sanyo Trading is focused on the fine chemicals, industrial products, sustainability, and life science markets. In these four markets, our business model encompasses end-to-end support ranging from product development to mass production and quality control to fulfill corporate customers’ diverse commercial needs. We have maintained a single-source procurement policy to establish strong and long-term relationships with selected suppliers. The combination of placing a high priority on delivering customer success and upholding commercial ethics has enabled us to continue providing greater value beyond merely selling merchandise and earn the lasting trust of our corporate customers. That is Sanyo Trading’s management ethos upheld since its founding. Our open, down-to-earth, and entrepreneurial corporate culture fostered over the years will continue to drive the growth and success of the Sanyo Trading Group. We intend to maintain our unique and sophisticated business models and remain at the forefront in pursuing the best solutions for making the world a better place for everyone.

Quest for Next

History

1947-1996 
50 Years of Business Diversification: From Foundation to Expansion
May 1947 Foundation of Sanyo Trading Co., Ltd. by members of the Kobe branch of the former Mitsui & Co., Ltd., following the zaibatsu dissolution. Headquarter in Kobe and the capital is 195,000 JPY.
May 1948 Establishment of a subsidiary in Tokyo
December 1952 Establishment of a subsidiary in Osaka
January 1954 Establishment of a representative office in New York
August 1959 Establishment of a subsidiary in Nagoya
February 1961 Reorganization of the representative office in New York to “Sanyo Corporation of America”, being a local corporation (now consolidated subsidiary)
November 1964 Completion of the Sanyo Trading building, and transfer of the headquarter from Kobe to Tokyo
July 1971 Elimination of the name “Tokyo subsidiary”, and fusion with the main office
January 1973 Foundation of Sanyo Machinery Co., Ltd.
June 1988 Establishment of a representative office in Bangkok
September 1990 Establishment of a representative office in Hanoi
October 1992 Establishment of a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City
November 1994 Establishment of a representative office in Detroit
1997-2022 
25 Years of Strengthening the Competitiveness and Going Public
March 2000 Reorganization of the representative office in Detroit to “Sanyo Corporation of America, Detroit” branch
August 2002 Establishment of a representative office in Shanghai
June 2003 Transfer of the representative office in Bangkok to our affiliate San-Thap International
December 2003 Reorganization of the representative office in Shanghai to “Sanyo Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.”, being a local corporation (now consolidated subsidiary)
January 2004 Acquisition of Cosmos Shoji Co., Ltd. (now consolidated subsidiary) and transfer into a subsidiary
コスモス商事ロゴ
September 2004 The main office, the Osaka branch and the Nagoya branch achieve ISO 14001 license
Sanyo Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. opens an office in Tianjin
October 2004 Through joint investment with Touchi Co., Ltd., Sanyo-Touchi (Shanghai) Rubber Co., Ltd. was founded (non-consolidated subsidiary)
December 2005 Sanyo Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. opens an office in Guangzhou
April 2006 Stock acquisition of Sanyo Technos Co., Ltd. (non-consolidated subsidiary, now subsidiary) and transfer into a subsidiary
October 2006 Stock acquisition of Chem-Inter Corporation (now consolidated subsidiary) and transfer into a subsidiary
June 2008 Completion of the new main office building
May 2010 Reorganization of the representative office in Ho Chi Minh City to “Sanyo Trading (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.”, being a local corporation and a non-consolidated subsidiary
October 2010 Establishment of a representative office in New Delhi, India
September 2011 Reorganization of the representative office in Hanoi to “Sanyo Trading (Vietnam) Co., Ltd., Hanoi branch”
December 2011 Reorganization of the representative office in New Delhi to “Sanyo Trading India Private Ltd.”
February 2012 Establishment of “Sanyo Trading International (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.”
October 2012 Listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Second Section
October 2013 Establishment of the Mexican local company “Sanyo Phoenix Mexico S.A. de C.V.”
October 2013 Listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, First Section
August 2014 Establishment of “PT. Sanyo Trading Indonesia.”
July 2015 Establishment of “Singapore Sanyo Trading Pte.Ltd.”
February 2016 Stock acquisition of Sort Co., Ltd. and transfer into a subsidiary
July 2016 Stock acquisition of Nihon Rufuto Co., Ltd. and transfer into a subsidiary
May 2017 Establishment of a representative office in Düsseldorf
July 2017 Stock acquisition of Freeman (Japan) Co., Ltd. and transfer into a subsidiary
August 2017 Establishment of a subsidiary in Hiroshima
September 2017 Sanyo Technos Co., Ltd. changed its corporate name to Sanyo Furue Science Co., Ltd.
October 2017 Stock acquisition of Azzurro Co., Ltd and transfer into a subsidiary
April 2018 Stock acquisition of Sort Co., Ltd.
July 2018 San-Thap International Co., Ltd. changed its corporate name to Sanyo Trading Asia Co., Ltd.
May 2019 Stock acquisition of Shin-Toyo Kikai Kogyo Co., Ltd.
October 2019 Stock acquisition of YPTech Co., Ltd.
株式会社ワイピーテックロゴ
March 2020 Stock acquisition of NKS Co., Ltd.
October 2020 Azzuro Co. and NKS Co. merge to establish Sanyo Life Material Co., Ltd.
November 2020 Stock acquisition of Global Trading Co., Ltd. Sanyo Trading Asia Co., Ltd. opens an office in Laem Chabang
January 2021 Sanyo Corporation of America opens an office in Alabama
June 2021 Establishment of Sanyo Technical Center
February 2022 Stock acquisition of SCRUM Inc.
2022-Present 
75th Anniversary, Aiming for a New Stage
April 2022 Changed the market division of the Tokyo Stock Exchange to the prime market
October 2022 Stock acquisition of Cosmo Computing System, Inc.
July 2023 Stock acquisition of KOTAI Biotechnologies, Inc.