Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

About Sumitomo Electric

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. was founded in Osaka in 1897 and belongs to the Sumitomo Group. The company is a manufacturer of electrical wires, power cables, optical fiber cables and compound semiconductors, as well as carbide and diamond tools, sintered components and wiring harnesses. Manufacturing includes, among other things, wire drawing and cable production, semiconductor fabrication based on gallium arsenide, gallium nitride and indium phosphide, powder metallurgy sintering technology, and electron beam treatment of wires and tubes. The group is active in five business segments: Automotive, Infocommunications, Electronics, Environment & Energy, and Industrial Materials; two further segments (Life Sciences, Materials & Resources) are under development. With over 400 subsidiaries and more than 280,000 employees in over 30 countries, the company has a global presence; its shares are listed on the Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka stock exchanges (Securities Code 5802). The headquarters are located in Chūō-ku, Osaka; further Japanese plants are located in Osaka, Itami and Yokohama. In 2024, the company acquired 90% of the shares in Südkabel GmbH in Mannheim.

Site

541-0041 Osaka, Japan (headquarters Chūō-ku)

Processes

Manufacture of copper wire/conductors (electric wires), Manufacture of optical fiber cables / optical fibers (optical fiber cables), Manufacture of compound semiconductors (compound semiconductors), Manufacture of cemented carbide tools (cemented carbide tools) and diamond/CBN tools, Sintering technology / powder metal products (sintered powder metal products), Electron beam treatment of wires/tubes (electron beam irradiation), Manufacture of wiring harnesses / electrical systems (wiring harnesses), Manufacture of high-temperature superconductor wires (oxide HTS wires)

Materials

Copper, Gallium Arsenide, Gallium Nitride, Indium Phosphide, Cemented Carbide, Synthetic Diamond, Ceramics, Aluminum (automotive electric wire)

Founded

1897

Employees

280000+ (Sumitomo

Industries

Automotive, Infocommunications, Electronics, Environment & Energy, Industrial Materials, Life Sciences (in development)

1. 01

   Wire and cable manufacturing (copper, aluminum)

2. 02

   Powder metallurgy sintering / carbide and diamond tool manufacturing

3. 03

   Compound semiconductor fabrication (GaAs, GaN, InP)

4. 04

   Optical fiber and cable production

5. 05

   Electron beam treatment of wires/tubes

6. 06

   Wiring harness / electrical system assembly

7. 07

   Systems and end products (Fusion Splicer, FTTx, energy systems)

Materials & Processes

Locations

Products & Components

Inside the production

Processes & technical limits

History

1. 1897

   Founded as Sumitomo Copper Rolling Works for the production of copper wire

2. 1911

   Founded Sumitomo Electric Wire & Cable Works; first Japanese high-voltage underground cable

3. 1916

   Opening of the Osaka Works plant; production of enameled wires

4. 1931

   Start of production of carbide tools

5. 1939

   Renamed Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

6. 1941

   Opening of the Itami Works

7. 1948

   Market launch of sintered powder metal products

8. 1961

   Opening of Yokohama Works; first delivery of wiring harnesses for passenger cars

9. 1970

   Start of production of compound semiconductors

10. 1974

    Start of production of optical fiber cables

11. 1978

    World's first bidirectional optical fiber CATV system 'Hi-OVIS'

12. 1982

    Production of world-class synthetic diamonds (1.2 carats)

13. 1986

    Founding of the German joint venture (later Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze, VW/Siemens)

14. 1996

    Development of a technology for long lengths of high-temperature superconductor wires

15. 2007

    Acquisition of Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze; Sumitomo Wiring Systems becomes a wholly owned subsidiary

16. 2024

    Acquisition of 90% of the shares in Südkabel GmbH (Mannheim) from the Wilms Group