History
Funai Electric has earned overwhelming trust in the digital consumer electronics industry for the high quality and cost performance of its products. We have pursued various paths involving new business development and production method innovations on its way to the present. Have a look at our road from its time of establishment to today.
Corporate Advances
Product Advances
Transistor Radios
The start of production of the transistor radio led to the establishment of our predecessor, FUNAI LIGHT MACHINERY MFG. CO., LTD. Explosive growth followed, as the company concentrated on OEM sales to leading U.S. and European manufacturers.
FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD. established in Nakagawa-cho, Ikuno-ku, Osaka, capitalized at ¥20 million.
CHUGOKU ELECTRIC WAVE CO., LTD. established as a production subsidiary in Okayama Prefecture.
Representative office established in Chicago, United States.
TOYO DENKI KOGYO established as a production joint venture in Taiwan.
Open Reel-to-real Tape Recorders
The application of mechatronics technology, centering on control technology for the rotating mechanism, led to the development of a host of product manufacturing technologies.
CHUGOKU FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD. established as a production subsidiary in Hiroshima Prefecture.
New headquarters building completed in Ikaino, Ikuno-ku, Osaka (present-day Momodani, Ikuno-ku).
TOKUSHIMA FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD. established as a production subsidiary in Tokushima Prefecture (thereafter, set up three more factories in Tokushima, bringing the total to four).
8-Track Car Stereos
Tape recorder for 8-track cartridges. In this years, set world record for unit production of 8-track car stereos.
FUNAI ELECTRIC COMPANY OF TAIWAN established as a production subsidiary in Taiwan.
OKAYAMA FUNAI ELECTRIC CO., LTD. established as a production subsidiary in Okayama Prefecture.
Home Stereos
Commenced production.
Construction of new headquarters building completed in the city of Daito, Osaka.
FUNAI AMERICA ELECTRIC SERVICE CORP. (later FUNAI U.S.A. CORPORATION) established in the United States as a sales subsidiary for North America.
Radio Cassette Players
Commenced production.
FUNAI ELECTRIC COMPANY OF TAICHUNG established as a production subsidiary in Taiwan.
Cassette Car Stereos
Commenced production.
Stereo Cassette Tape Decks
Commenced production.
Training at the Hamura Plant of Hino Motors, which formed the basis for establishing the Funai Production System (FPS).
CVC VCRs
Funai Electric led the world in the development of the compact video cassette recorder.
Attracted a great deal of interest when Japanese television broadcasters used these for a program on climbing Mt. Everest.
FUNAI ELECTRIC TRADING (EUROPE) GmbH (later FUNAI EUROPE GmbH) established in Germany as a sales subsidiary for Europe.
SYMPHONIC ENTERPRISE CO., LTD. (later TOKYO FUNAI, FUNAI SALES) established as a domestic sales company.
VHS Videos
Applied technology cultivated during the development of CVC to the development of the VHS video format.
Thereafter, succeeded in internalizing video deck mechanisms, including main parts such as motors and cylinders. Product competitiveness surged, and this became a major product underpinning the Company's rapid growth.
Cordless Telephones
Developed cordless home telephones, entering the telecommunications equipment business. Developed the world's first antenna-less cordless telephone.
Tokyo Branch Office opened.
Microwave Ovens
Commenced production.
TV/VCR Combos
One example of a CRT TV/video combination: the TV with internal video.
Major sales growth in the late 1990s to early 2000s, acquiring a share of more than 60% in North America.
HRS FUNAI CO., LTD. established as a video software sales subsidiary.
CRT TVs
Commenced production.
FUNAI AMSTRAD LIMITED (later FUNAI ELECTRIC (UK) LTD.) established as a production joint venture in U.K.
Auto Bakeries
The world's first automatic bread-making machine, sold as the Raku Raku Pan Da.
The first such product to make a full-fledged entry into the Japanese market.
Earned top-selling product award as the Nikkei Inc. "best-selling product of the year awards."
Year marked a boom in the Japanese market for bread-making machines.
FUNAI ELECTRIC (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD. established as a production joint venture in Singapore.
Faxes
Commenced production.
New corporate symbol mark formulated.
Net sales surpassed ¥100.0 billion.
FUNAI ELECTRIC (EUROPE) GmbH established as a production subsidiary in Germany.
FUNAI ELECTRIC (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD. established as a production subsidiary in Malaysia.
Laser Disk Players
Noteworthy as the first products marketed by all stores of Japanese leading mass retailers under the FUNAI brand.
Commercial versions sold later.
FUNAI CORPORATION, INC. established as a sales subsidiary in the United States.
HIGHSONIC INDUSTRIAL LTD. (now FUNAI ELECTRIC (H.K.), LTD.) established in Hong Kong.
DONG GUAN PLANT started operations as a consignment production plant in China (later, operations commenced at the CHANGPING, ZHONG SHAN, JIAXIANG and HUANGJIANG plants.
CD-ROM Drives
Succeeded in bundled sales with U.S. PC board manufacturers. Later, developed and sold thin, 4x, 8x and 16x models.
Air Conditioners
Commenced production.
FUNAI SERVICE CO., LTD. established as a domestic service subsidiary.
Inkjet Printers
Supplied OEM products to leading U.S. printer manufacturer.
Succeeded in mass production of printers selling at the incredible price of only $99.
Listed on the Second Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange.
DVD Players
In the 2000s, acquired a leading share of the North American market.
Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Osaka Securities Exchange.
Laser Beam Printers
Commenced production of monochrome laser beam printers on OEM basis for leading U.S. printer manufacturer.
Acquired stake in DX ANTENNA CO., LTD. and converted the company to a subsidiary.
Projectors
Provision of OEM products to specialized projector manufacturer in United States.
LCD TVs
With a few years after commencing production, acquired top share of the North American market.
FUNAI (THAILAND) CO., LTD. established as a production subsidiary in Thailand.
DVD Recorders
In addition to our own brand, received orders for OEM production from other major manufacturers, leading to a top share of the global market.
Digital Still Cameras
OEM supply to leading U.S. camera manufacturer.
FUNAI ELECTRIC ADVANCED APPLIED TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE INC. established.
At headquarters, acquired certifications for environmental management system (ISO 14001) and quality management system (ISO 9001).
FUNAI SERVICE CORPORATION established as a service subsidiary in the United States.
FUNAI ELECTRIC (POLSKA) Sp. z o.o. (now FUNAI ELECTRIC EUROPE Sp. z o.o.) established as a production subsidiary in Poland.
BROADTEC TV R&D CENTER SDN. BHD. (now Funai Malaysia R and D SDN.BHD.) established as a development subsidiary in Malaysia.
Blu-ray Disc Players
Commenced production of players meeting the next-generation optical disc standard, with higher quality than DVDs.
P&F USA, Inc. established in the United States as a sales subsidiary for Philips brand products in North America.
Founder Tetsuro Funai assumed post of chairman, Tomonori Hayashi became president and CEO.
Blu-ray Disc Recorders
Became a record-breaking hit in Japan ahead of the 2011 transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting.
P&F MEXICANA, S.A. DE C.V. established in Mexico as a sales subsidiary for Philips brand products in Latin America.
Headquarters acquired occupational health and safety management system certification (OHSAS 18001).
Zhong Yue Funai Electron Co. established as a production subsidiary in China.
FUNAI SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. established as a development subsidiary in Singapore.
Funai Electric R&D (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. established as a development subsidiary in China.
Tablet Devices
With a distinctive design and a host of functions, including Skype, infrared remote control and DLNA player, sold as an Android tablet PC specifically for in-home use.
Company celebrated 50th anniversary of establishment.
Funai India Private Limited established as a sales subsidiary in India.
LED Lighting
Commenced production.
Zhong Shan Funai Electron Co. established as production subsidiary in China.
Stick-Type Smart TV Devices
Commenced development and sales to telecommunications carriers of this stick-type compact set-top-box, which converts a standard television to an Android™ 4.0-equipped smart TV.
FUNAI ELECTRIC CEBU, INC. (formerly, Lexmark International (Philippines), Inc.) acquired from Lexmark.
Tetsuhiro Maeda assumed President and CEO.
Hideaki Funakoshi assumed President and CEO.
Launched FUNAI brand at Yamada Denki with exclusive sale contract.
OLED
Launched OLED with built-in hard disk for the first time in history at Yamada Denki.
Nail Art Printer "CureNel"
We started selling completely new products that anyone can easily print on their nails in a short time.
Koji Bando became Chairman and CEO.