The Sanyo Electric Works was founded in 1947 at Moriguchi City near Osaka. The name Sanyo means Three Oceans. The first product was a generator-powered electrical light for bicycles. This product was produced at Hojo in Hyogo Prefecture.

In 1950 Sanyo became a limited liability corporation as Sanyo Electric Co. It entered the consumer appliance market in 1952 with the production of a plastic-case radio. By 1953 it had another consumer appliance for the Japanese market, a home washing machine.

Between 1953 and 1964 Sanyo accomplished several financial achievements. Its stock was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as well as the Osaka Securities Exchange. Also Sanyo first opened overseas subsidiaries during this time, in Hong Kong and the U.S.

In the 1960's Sanyo entered new technological fields, cadmium-nickel battery production and the manufacture of color television sets. Production of cadmium-nickel batteries began in 1964.

In the 1970's Sanyo further developed its expertise in battery production when it created the first lithium battery in 1975. By 1978 it was manufacturing lithium batteries for the mass market. During this time Sanyo also developed a solar battery.

In the 1980's Sanyo developed a new line of batteries based upon nickel hydride. By 1990 it was marketing these batteries. In 2001 Sanyo was selected by the Ford Motor Company as its supplier of nickel-hydride batteries for its hybrid gasoline-electric cars. Later that year this battery manufacturing division of Sanyo was sold to the Toshiba Group.

In the 1990's Sanyo made additional development of photovoltaic cells for solar batteries.

(To be continued.)