History of Sumitomo Corp.
| December 24, 1919 Registered December 30, 1919 |
Originally founded as Osaka Hokko Kaisha Ltd. (capital stock 35 million yen), a company engaged in real estate management, conducting land reclamation, land grading, harbor repair construction, etc. in the Osaka northern harbor region. |
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| November 1944 | Merged with Sumitomo Building Co., Ltd. (established August 1923; capital stock 6.5 million yen). Changed the corporate name to Sumitomo Building and Real Estate Co., Ltd. |
| December 1944 | Took over sales operations of Hasebe Takekoshi Architectural Office; Reorganized as a general real estate company involved in real estate management and civil engineering construction design and management. |
| November 1945 | After the end of the war, the company makes a transition to general trading, looking to handle products from Japan's major manufacturing firms in various industries. The company also deals in products manufactured by Sumitomo-related companies. The company name is changed to Nihon Kensetsu Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd., starting a new existence as a general trading firm. Ever since, the company has emphasized itself as a general trading firm, working to expand the breadth and type of products handled. |
| August 1949 | The firm listed its shares for public trade on the Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya Stock Exchanges (also subsequently listed shares in June 1955 on the Fukuoka Stock Exchange). |
| July 1950 | The company spun out its civil construction design management division as Japan Construction Industrial Co., Ltd. (presently Nikken Sekkei Ltd.). |
| March 1952 | Established Nikken New York Inc. in the United States (presently Sumitomo Corporation of America). |
| June 1952 | Changed the company name to Sumitomo Shoji Kaisha Ltd. |
| December 1962 | Consolidated the Osaka and Tokyo sales offices; adopted a product division structure. Established nine different product divisions: Iron & Steel, Nonferrous Metals, Electric, Machinery, Agriculture & Fishery, Chemicals, Textiles, General Products & Fuel, Real Estate. |
| February 1963 | Established Tozai Kogyo Co., Ltd. in Osaka (presently Sumitomo Finance & Leasing Co., Ltd. Listed on the second section of the Osaka Stock Exchange in November 1983. Designated a first section stock on the Tokyo and Osaka exchanges. Reorganized into subsidiary in December 2006). |
| October 1969 | Established Sumisho Computer Services Co., Ltd. in Osaka (presently Sumisho Computer Systems Corporation. Listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in February 1989, designated a first section stock on the Tokyo exchange in September 1991). |
| August 1970 | Merged with Sogo Boeki Co., Ltd. (established in May 1950; capital stock 300 million yen). |
| November 1970 | Established Osaka Head Office and Tokyo Head Office, doing away with the names Head Office and Tokyo Branch. |
| July 1978 | Adopted official English name as Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo Shoji Kaisha, Ltd.). |
| June 1979 | Implemented a Sales Division system, establishing four sales divisions: Iron & Steel, Machinery & Electric, Nonferrous Metals, Chemicals & Fuel, Consumer Products (subsequently established an Information & Industrial division in April 1998, and split the Machinery & Electric division into two separate divisions in April 2000, creating a total of six sales divisions). |
| January 1995 | Established Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, a firm engaged in cable television general operations (listed on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange in March 2005). |
| January 1997 | Sumitomo Corporation Europe is established in the United Kingdom as a general European holding company (presently Sumitomo Corporation Europe Holding Limited). |
| April 2000 | Established Sumitomo Corporation Hokkaido Co., Ltd. in Hokkaido, transferring Hokkaido Branch Office operations. |
| April 2001 | Reorganized headquarters into six corporate groups, nine business units and 28 business divisions. Eliminated Osaka Head Office and Tokyo Head Office naming convention. Adopted a block system (regional businesses) for Kansai, Chubu and Kyushu/ Okinawa regions. |
| June 2001 | Moved the head office to Chuo-ku, Tokyo (present location). |
| July 2002 | Reorganized corporate groups into two groups, one office, and one division. |
| April 2003 | Established Sumitomo Corporation Tohoku Co., Ltd. in Miyagi Prefecture, transferring Tohoku Branch Office operations. |
| October 2005 | Established Sumitomo Corporation Kyushu Co., Ltd. in Fukuoka Prefecture, transferring Kyushu/ Okinawa Block operations. |
| April 2007 | Reorganized eight business units and 26 business divisions. |
| April 2009 | Reorganized seven business units and 26 business divisions. |
