Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. (Japanese: Nippon Electric Co., Ltd., English: NEC Corporation, Nippon Electric Company, Limited), referred to as Nippon Electric or NEC or NEC, is a multinational information technology company. The headquarters is located in Minato-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. NEC provides information technology (IT) and network products to commercial enterprises, communications services and governments. Its business scope is mainly divided into three parts: IT solutions, network solutions and electronic equipment. IT solutions mainly provide software, hardware and related services to commercial enterprises, governments and individual users. Network Solutions designs and provides broadband systems, mobile and wireless communications network systems, mobile phones, broadcasting and other systems. NEC's electronic equipment includes semiconductors, displays and other electronic devices. NEC also produces the Versa series of notebook computers for the international market and the Lavie series of notebook computers for the Japanese domestic market. NEC was also the inventor of Earth Simulator, once the world's fastest supercomputer. NEC is a member of the Sumitomo Group.

In the past five years, NEC has been among the top four in terms of U.S. patent applications, with an average of 1,764 patent applications approved each year.

Before taking its current name, that is, before 1983, the company was known as Nippon Electric Company Ltd. This name is still used in Japan.

Early Development

Company Profile

On August 31, 1898, Kunihiko Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda purchased Miyoshi Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Nippon Electric Limited Partnership was jointly established based on the equipment of the company (Miyoshi Electrical Manufacturing Company). Iwatari is the shareholder representative, while Maeda is in charge of company sales. Walter Tenney Carleton was a representative of Western Electric, which was interested in the Japanese telephone market, and was also responsible for Miyoshi Electric's equipment innovation. On July 17, 1899, Nippon Electric Co., Ltd. was established with Seibu Electric Company as a shareholder. This was also the first company in Japan to form a joint venture with foreign capital. Iwatari was appointed managing director and Ernest Clement and Carlton were appointed directors. Maeda and Mototeru Fujii were assigned as auditors. Iwatari, Maeda and Carlton are responsible for the entire company's operations.

Early products

NEC was first engaged in the production, sales and maintenance of telephones and switches. In 1901, in order to modernize production equipment, NEC started construction of the Mita Factory in Mita Shikokumachi and completed it in December 1902. In 1903, the Ministry of Communications also adopted a new technology, the Universal Battery Switch Board. The use of a universal battery switch board eliminates the need for a permanent magnet generator for the phone. The switch plates were initially imported from abroad, but by 1909 they were made domestically. NEC began exporting telephones to China in 1904.

Management Innovation

In 1905, Iwatari began to change the factory management policy. He visited Western Electric and observed their management and production controls. After returning to Japan, he abolished the "oyakata" system and replaced it with a new system in which all managers and employees were direct employees of the company. Invalid processes in the production process are cancelled.

Companies use high salaries as incentives to improve employee efficiency. New income and expense controls were introduced and clocks installed.

The expansion of telephone service in Japan

Between 1899 and 1907, the number of telephone users in Japan rose from 35,000 to 95,000. In 1908, the Sino-Japanese Telegraph Agreement Next, NEC entered the Chinese market. They also entered the Korean market and established an office in Seoul in January 1908. Between 1907 and 1912, sales revenue increased from 1.6 million yen to 2 million yen. The expansion of telephone services in Japan became a key to NEC's success.

In March 1913, the Department of Transportation postponed plans for a third expansion of telephone service. This left 120,000 potential phone users having to wait for the phone to be installed. NEC sales dropped by 60% between 1913 and 1915. During this time, Iwadari began to introduce a number of new things, including electric fans, kitchen appliances, washing machines, and vacuum cleaners; until then, Japan had never had electric fans. In 1916, the government resumed the telephone expansion program, resulting in the addition of 75,000 new subscribers and 32,600 kilometers of long-distance telephone lines. Thanks to the Third Expansion Plan, NEC experienced tremendous growth at a time when other Japanese industries were in decline.

Union with Sumitomo

In 1919, NEC began its first alliance with Sumitomo. Sumitomo Densen Seizosho is a company that produces electrical wires. NEC provided it with wire manufacturing equipment, and the wire patents jointly owned by both parties with Seibu Electric Company were also transferred to Sumitomo Densen.

The Great Kanto Earthquake

The Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 dealt a heavy blow to Japan. 140,000 people were killed and 3.4 million were left homeless. Four NEC factories were destroyed, killing 105 engineers and workers. Thirteen telecommunications offices in Tokyo were destroyed in the fire, and telephone calls and telegraphs were interrupted due to damaged phone lines. In response, the Department of Transportation accelerated plans to install automatic telephone switching and radio broadcasting. The first automatic relay system was produced by the British Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Co. (ATM). NEC was involved in the installation of the automatic exchange system and eventually became the sales agent for the ATM. In 1924, NEC developed its own automatic switching system.

Steady Growth

Radio Broadcasting

NEC began its radio communications business in 1924. Japan's first radio broadcasting company, Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation, was established in 1924 and began broadcasting in 1925. NEC imported broadcasting equipment from Western Electric Company. The expansion of radio broadcasting to Osaka and Nagoya marked the beginning of radio communications as an industry. In 1924, NEC established Radio Communications Research. In 1925, the development of electronic tubes began. By 1930, NEC produced the company's first 500W radio broadcast transmitter. In 1934, they provided a 100KW radio broadcasting system for the Xinjing Broadcasting Station in Manchuria, China.

Photo-telegraphic equipment

Photo-telegraphic equipment was invented by NEC and used at the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Hirohito. The ceremony was held in Kyoto in 1928, and two newspapers, the Asahi Shimbun and the Mainichi Shimbun, competed over it. The Asahi Shimbun originally planned to use Siemens equipment while the Mainichi Shimbun planned to use French picture fax equipment. In the end, both newspapers adopted NEC's product because of its speed and high picture quality.

Microwave Research

In 1939, NEC established a research laboratory at the Tamagawa Factory and became the first Japanese company to successfully test microwave multiplex communications.

Domestic Growth

NEC began developing transistors in 1950. In 1951, they began exporting radio broadcasting equipment to South Korea. In 1952, NEC was awarded the Deming prize for its excellence in quality control. In 1954, computer research and development began. NEC produced Japan's first crossbar switching system. In 1956, the system was adopted by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). In the same year, NEC began jointly developing electronic switching systems with NTT. In 1958, NEC established Taiwan Telecommunication Company, its first overseas joint venture after the war. In the same year, NEC developed the NEAC-1101 and NEAC-1102 computers. In 1959, NEC launched the company's first transistor computer, the NEAC-2201. In 1960, the company began research and development of integrated circuits. In 1963, NEC began trading in the form of American Depositary Receipts, with sales revenue in the United States reaching 10 million. In the same year, Nippon Electric New York Company (today's Nippon Electric America Company) was established.

Global expansion

In 1964, NEC provided KDD with a submarine optical cable system laid in the Pacific Ocean. From 1968 to 1969, Nippon Electric Mexico, Nippon Electric Brazil, and Nippon Electric Australia were established respectively. In 1971, NEC provided the SPADE satellite communications system to Comsat Corporation. In 1972, Switzerland ordered a set of satellite communication ground workstations from NEC. In the same year, a small movable satellite communications ground station was established in China. In 1973, NEC's common shares were listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. In the same year, an automatic broadcasting system was designed for the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). Nippon Electric (Europe) Co., Ltd. is established. In 1974, the ACOS series of computers was launched. In 1975, the new Central Research Institute was established. In 1977, Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) launched an NEC geostationary weather satellite named "Himaflower".

The Camp;C era begins

During this period, NEC introduced the Camp;C concept, that is, computers and communications. In 1978, Nippon Electric America opened its factory in Dallas, Texas, and began manufacturing private automatic branch exchanges (PABX) and telephone systems. In the same year, it acquired California Electronic Arrays, Inc. and began producing semi-alien chips in the United States. In 1980, NEC invented the first digital signal processor (digital signal processor) PD7710. In 1981, NEC's shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange. In the same year, Nippon Electric Semiconductor (UK) Co., Ltd. was established to produce large-scale integrated circuits (LSI) and very large-scale integrated circuits (VLSI). In 1982, NEC launched the 16-bit personal computer series PC-9800. In 1983, NEC's shares were listed and traded in Basel, Geneva and Zurich. In the same year, NEC changed the company's English name. In 1984, Nippon Electric Information Systems Co., Ltd. began producing computers and related products in the United States. Likewise, the V-series processors were launched. In 1986, NEC provided an SX-2 supercomputer to the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC).

Likewise, the digital switching system NEAX61 was put into use. In 1987, Nippon Electric Technology (UK) Co., Ltd. was established in the UK and began to produce video recorders, printers and color TV sets for the European market. In 1989, Nippon Electric America Corporation became the holding company for North American operations.

Camp; C era

In 1990, the new headquarters office building was put into use. At the same time, a joint venture was established in China and began to produce and sell digital electronic switching systems and large-scale integrated circuits. In 1993, NEC's asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching system was put into use in the United States. In the same year, Nippon Electric Europe Ltd. was established as a holding company for European operations. In 1996, the Camp;C Research Institute of Nippon Electric Europe Co., Ltd. opened in Germany. In 1996, Nippon Electric (China) Co., Ltd. was established as a holding company for China operations. In 1997, NEC launched 4G dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and the company's semiconductor team was awarded the first Japan Quality Awards. In 1998, NEC's world's most advanced semiconductor R&D center was completed.

New Century

In 1999, NEC celebrated its 100th anniversary. In 2002, NEC Electronics Corporation was separated from Nippon Electric Corporation and became a new semiconductor company. NEC built the Earth Simulator Computer (ESC), the world's fastest supercomputer from 2002 to 2004.

Headquarters: No. 7-1, Shiba 5-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Chairman: Moto Sasaki

President: Kaoru Yano

Capital: 337.8 billion yen (March 2006)

Sales: 4.8249 billion yen (2005 consolidated)

NEC China

Company name: NEC (China) Co., Ltd.

Address: Building B, South Xincang International Building, No. 22 Shishitiao A, Dongcheng East, Beijing

1222, Floor 12 Room 100007

Established: November 1996

Chairman: Matsuoka Kuntomo

President:

Kanako Hajime

Registered capital: US$106.774 million (June 2006)

Total number of employees: 177 President Hao Kaneko

Business content: Investment, market research, advertising Publicity, human resources, finance, legal affairs,

Intellectual property, international procurement, new business development, etc.

The corporate brand was included in the 2006 " Ranked 211th in the "World's Top 500 Brands" list. The company ranked 159th in the 2007 Fortune ranking of the world's 500 largest companies.