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Corporation (, )
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Tokyo , Japan ( 1912 )
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Osaka
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Japan
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Toshihiko Fujimoto , President
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47,600 (Consolidated, as of August 31, 2005)
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28 trillion Yen (2438 billion USD ) (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2006)
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Electronics
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Audio-Visual and communication equipments, Home appliances, Information equipments, ICs, LCDs, Other electronic components
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SHARP World Index
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(, ) is a
Japan ese
Electronics manufacturer, founded in
1912 .
It takes its name from one of its founder's first inventions, the Ever-Sharp
Mechanical Pencil , which was invented by Tokuji Hayakawa(早川 徳次) in
1915 . Since then it has developed into one of the leading electronics companies in the world. As a semiconductor maker, Sharp is among the
Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders and among the Top 100
R&D Spenders in a list published by the
IEEE Spectrum magazine. It gained public awareness in the
United Kingdom when it sponsored
Manchester United F.C from 1982 to 2000 which was a great period of success for the club.
It takes its name from one of its founder's first inventions, the Ever-Sharp
Mechanical Pencil , which was invented by Tokuji Hayakawa(早川 徳次) in
1915 .
1 After the pencil business was destroyed by the
Great Kantō Earthquake in
1923 , the company relocated to
Osaka and started designing the first Japanese radio sets. These went on sale in
1925 . In
1953 it started production of the first television sets in Japan. Other notable achievements include the world's first all-
Transistor desktop
Calculator in
1964 and the first
LCD calculator in 1973. LCD technology continues to be a key part of Sharp's product range, in both the component and the consumer-appliance sides of the business.
Core technologies and products include:
Solar Panel s,
Mobile Phone s, audio-visual entertainment equipment,
LCD Panels ,
Projectors ,
Photocopiers ,
Microwave Ovens ,
Cash Registers ,
CMOS and
CCD sensors, and
Flash Memory .
The first commercial
Camera Phone was also made by Sharp for the Japanese market in November
2000 . Recent products include the ViewCam, the Ultra-Lite
Notebook PC , the
Zaurus Personal Digital Assistant ,
Sidekick 3 , and the
Aquos flat screen
Television .
In 2006 Sharp said it has developed a
Humanoid Robot that clears dishes from the table and puts them into a dishwasher. The robot (measuring 95x50x45cm) opens the door of the
Dishwasher , takes hold of
Teacup s,
Rice Bowl s and
Plate s, places them in the unit and closes the door
2
Net sales for the year 2003/4 were $16.8 billion.
The Corporation employs 46,600 staff, of which around half live outside Japan.
It operates from 64 bases in 30 countries and its products are distributed in 164 countries worldwide. Many of its regional subsidiaries trade under the name "''Sharp Electronics''".
As a semiconductor maker, Sharp is among the
Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders and among the Top 100
R&D Spenders in a list published by the
IEEE Spectrum magazine.
Sharp sponsored
Manchester United Football Club from
1982 until
2000 , in one of the lengthiest and most lucrative sponsorship deals in
English Football . Sharp's
Logo became iconic between
1982 and
2000 when English
Football club
Manchester United displayed it on their shirts as part of a sponsorship deal. Because much of these 18 years were something of a golden era for the club, with a (coincidental) decline in fortunes happening once
Vodafone became the new shirt sponsors in 2000, some fans now term this period - particularly 1993-1999, as ''The Sharp Years''.
Sharp Electronics telephone support is provided by a United-States based business,
Affina, LLC , located in
Peoria, IL . This same business also provides
Tech Support for competitors such as
Hitachi and
Toshiba .
