1958
Innovative Product: Tape recorder
The company's first tape recorder for home use, the RQ-201, was developed in 1958.
And in 1959, the RQ-201 was specially modified for export to Southeast Asian countries, and became the first export model of the National Brand tape recorder.
Innovative Product: Home air conditioner
The company's first room air conditioner marketed under the name "Home Air Conditioner" with the National Brand, was developed in 1958.
Air conditioners in Japan during the first half of the 1950s were mainly large-sized ones for business use and none were available for home use. Attention in the industry was then directed toward the window-type that could be made compact and lightweight at a relatively low cost.
The company was also alert in seeing the air conditioner as a home electric appliance that would be a big hit in the future, being just right for the hot and humid climate of Japan. Specifically, the company focused its product development on compact, lightweight, small-capacity air conditioners not found among competing brands. They could be easily installed in windows and on walls of Japanese-style and western-style rooms. The company then developed an air conditioner for home use, the first in the industry.
The annual output in the first year in Japan was 1,100 units.