The Sumitomo Group
Who is Sumitomo?
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag was formed in 2008 through the merger of the Demag Plastics Group with the Plastics Machinery Division of Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. Besides the injection moulding machines built by the Plastics Machinery Division, Sumitomo Heavy Industries produces, among other things, ships, bridges, mobile cranes, particle accelerators, laser systems, materials handling equipment and equipment for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The origins of the Sumitomo Group can be traced back to 1615, when the former Buddhist monk Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) founded a trading business for books and medicines. Towards the end of his life, he left behind an extensive written work in which he set out his principles and advice for entrepreneurial activity, which are still valued as guidelines in the Sumitomo Group today.
Sumitomo Heavy Industries was founded in 1888 under the name Kosakugata to service and repair machinery for copper mines. The Besshi Copper Mine, continuously under the management of Sumitomo from 1691 to 1973, was for a long time one of the most important copper producers in the world. It laid the foundation for the Sumitomo Group to become one of the world's leading conglomerates.
The Plastics Machinery Division has been active in both injection moulding and injection blow moulding since the dawn of the plastics era. It has played a decisive role in the qualitative and quantitative growth of the plastics industry in Asia.
Sumitomo has established an excellent market position in Asia and North America with high-performance, technically mature injection moulding machines. In the Asian market, every fourth electric injection moulding machine is a Sumitomo machine. Since the 1990s, Sumitomo has been concentrating on the development and production of electric injection moulding machines and is now undisputedly one of the technology leaders in this field. The decisive competitive advantage is the consistent use of expertise and key technologies within the Group – in particular the electric drives that are specially developed for injection moulding.
Since the acquisition of the Demag Plastics Group, the Sumitomo Plastics Division now also plays a strong role in Europe. The merger of the two companies has created the first globally active company in the injection moulding industry which is represented on all continents and is always a competent and reliable partner for its international customers all over the world.
400 years of company history show that the Sumitomo Group is not only one of the longest existing companies. It is also proof of its great willingness to adapt to market requirements. Sumitomo successfully combines tradition with the concentrated innovative strength of the global Sumitomo Group.