Chronology
1970
Changes company name to Sharp Corporation
Establishes Sharp Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. (name changed to Sharp Manufacturing Systems Corporation in 1994)
Senior Executive Director Akira Saeki named president, President Tokuji Hayakawa named chairman
Constructs Advanced Development and Planning Center
Implements business group system
Releases gallium arsenide double LED
1971
Establishes Sharp Corporation of Australia Pty. Ltd. (SCA) as sales base in Australia
Awarded the 1970 Okochi Memorial Production Prize for incorporating ELSIs in calculators
1972
Releases company’s first copier
Launches new sales company system (regional sales companies consolidated into 16 companies by region)
Launches S734 Project for developing COS calculators
Adds Sharp Grand Award to annual employee commendation
Opens Consumer Information Centers at nine service companies throughout Japan
Establishes Sharp System Products Co., Ltd.
Forms Sharp Employee Stockholder Association
1973
Establishes Business Philosophy, Business Creed, and Basic Business Principles
Sets up employee savings scheme
Establishes Sharp Data Corporation (SDA) (name changed to Sharp Korea Corporation [SKC] in 1984) as manufacturing base in Korea
Begins production of CMOS LSIs; releases pocket-sized COS calculator with LCD
1974
Holds first company-wide QC circle convention
Constructs Sharp Tokyo Building (now Sharp Tokyo Ichigaya Building)
Establishes Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd. (SECL) as sales base in Canada
Establishes Sharp-Roxy Corporation (M) Sdn. Bhd. (SRC) as manufacturing base in Malaysia (name changed to S&O Electronics [Malaysia] Sdn. Bhd. [SOEM] in 2008)
Launches ELM products
Formulates company-wide quality standards (SS: Sharp Corporation Standards)
1975
Begins mass production of color TVs at SCA in Australia
1976
Launches New Life product strategy
Sharp solar cells installed on Ume, Japan’s first operational ionosphere-observing satellite
1977
Establishes Sharp System Service
Launches Special Project Team system
Tokusen Metal Limited Partnership certified as special subsidiary of Sharp Corporation
1978
Installs automated production line for the complete fabrication of calculators (awarded the Okochi Memorial Production Prize in 1981)
1979
Establishes Sharp Electronics (Svenska) AB (SES) (name changed to Sharp Electronics [Nordic] AB [SEN] in 2000) as sales base in Sweden
Sharp Manufacturing Company of America (SMCA) starts operations as production division of SEC
Establishes SBC Software