NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This year, Toshiba America Inc. (TAI), the holding company for one of the nation’s leading groups of high technology companies, is celebrating five decades as an innovation leader in the United States. From introducing the world’s first laptop and developing the first flash memory storage in the 1980s to manufacturing the first DVD player in the 1990s, to becoming the world’s largest nuclear power provider in the 2000s, the company’s numerous firsts have improved the way we live and work. Today Toshiba employs more than 17,000 people across the U.S. and offers a broad range of intelligent solutions to enhance home, office, industry and healthcare environments.
“Since entering the U.S. market in 1965, Toshiba has evolved from a supplier of products and components to a fully integrated solution partner, with a legacy of innovation and a plan for the future,” said Mr. Masaaki Osumi, Chairman and CEO of Toshiba America, Inc. “Through our commitment to improving STEM education and our tireless pursuit of innovation, we are working to create a future ideal of a safe, secure and comfortable society,” he added.
TAI, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, oversees several operating companies that together span a diversified range of modern electronics, some conducting research and development, manufacturing, sales and service in its field of expertise. It helps bring to life Toshiba’s vision of a Human Smart Community – a society that is technologically advanced but that puts people’s well-being first. Rather than relying on a single product or technology by itself, it uses the know-how from a wide range of technologies and services to tackle today’s most pressing issues, creating new value for individuals. Its lifenology approach focuses on people while leveraging technology and business.
Toshiba is now looking to the next 50 years and the solutions it can provide society by continuing to monitor trends that will shape industry and life in the U.S. These include accelerated urbanization, aging social infrastructure, a maturing society, changing healthcare requirements and the need for a safer food chain.
Energy management will be critical to providing a stable energy supply to an increasingly urban population. Advancements in Toshiba’s metering and analytic solutions allow for a greater influx of cleaner renewable energy, a first step in building efficient communities of tomorrow.
Efficiency is also necessary in healthcare for an aging population and Toshiba is utilizing big data analysis to better predict and treat illness, with a goal to revitalize and introduce new, preventive, diagnosis and treatment options. Healthcare also means helping our communities thrive and Toshiba is dedicated to using its expertise and technology to build a safer food chain. It is introducing new ways to grow, transport and sell food through clean room vegetable farms.
To ensure a healthier planet, it is working toward the realization of a Hydrogen Society. Toshiba will develop a clean energy supply system that uses renewable energy to power hydrogen-generating water electrolysis systems and use fuel cells to convert that hydrogen to electricity with zero carbon emissions.
Through its science and technology education initiatives, which are key pillars of its corporate social responsibility program, it is committed to investing in students who will build a better future for all. Toshiba gives back by partnering with the National Science Teachers Association to sponsor ExploraVision, the world's largest science competition for K-12 students. Since its inception in 1992, nearly 350,000 students from across the U.S. and Canada have participated in the program. Through the Toshiba America Foundation, it contributes to the quality of science and mathematics education in U.S. schools by supporting teacher-designed projects that improve instruction for their students. Its TOMODACHI Toshiba Science & Technology Leadership Academy brings high school students and teachers from Japan and the U.S. together to participate in an annual one-week, cross-cultural STEM exchange and leadership program.
“Our accomplishments of the last five decades are remarkable and we have big plans for the next 50 years. We will continue to be dedicated to a future that goes beyond technology and beyond business – a future where everyone, everywhere can enjoy a rich and vibrant life and has the resources to thrive,” said Mr. Osumi.
About Toshiba America Inc.
Founded in 1965 and celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Toshiba America, Inc. (TAI) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Toshiba Corporation and the holding company of nine Toshiba operating companies that offer a broad range of products and solutions for the residential, commercial, industrial and healthcare sectors. The nine companies, which along with TAI are known collectively as Toshiba America Group, are Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (Semiconductor and storage solutions), Toshiba America Energy Systems, Inc. (Power generation solutions), Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (Digital products), Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. (Diagnostic imaging solutions), Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Inc. (Nuclear power solutions), Toshiba International Corporation (Industrial, power electronics & transmission & distribution solutions), Vital Images, Inc. (Medical imaging solutions), Toshiba America Research, Inc. (R&D) and Toshiba Medical Research Institute USA, Inc. (Medical imaging R&D).
For more information visit www.toshiba.com, www.Facebook.com/ToshibaInnovation or @ToshibaInnovate on Twitter.
About Toshiba
Toshiba Corporation, a Fortune Global 500 company, channels world-class capabilities in advanced electronic and electrical product and systems into five strategic business domains: Energy & Infrastructure, Community Solutions, Healthcare Systems & Services, Electronic Devices & Components, and Lifestyles Products & Services. Guided by the principles of The Basic Commitment of the Toshiba Group, “Committed to People, Committed to the Future”, Toshiba promotes global operations towards securing “Growth Through Creativity and Innovation”, and is contributing to the achievement of a world in which people everywhere live in safe, secure and comfortable society.
Founded in Tokyo in 1875, today’s Toshiba is at the heart of a global network of over 590 consolidated companies employing over 200,000 people worldwide, with annual sales surpassing 6.5 trillion yen (US$63 billion). To find out more about Toshiba, visit www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm