The History of Brother
As one of the biggest names in print electronics, Brother has established itself as one of the oldest standing and most prominent names in the business. Founded over a hundred years ago, long before the computer (and much less the electronic printer) was even invented, Brother had its humble roots as a Japanese startup sewing company and has grown into a major player in the electronics industry.
Way back in 1908, a man by the name of Kanekichi Yasui founded Yasui Sewing Machine Company in Nagoya, Japan. Soon after its founding, the brand changed its name to Yasui Brothers' Sewing Machine Co., hinting at its permanent brand name to come. After years of success, the company was sold in 1934 and was again renamed, this time to Nippon Sewing Machine Co. Eventually, after multiple name changes, the company became known as Brother International Corporation, as we know it today.
The word "international" being incorporated into the title was to imply that the brand exported goods, which (after it was renamed) it began doing in 1954. In the fifties, Brother experienced much success shipping sewing machines overseas, and the company's growth continued. Home appliances and knitting machines continued to advance and become incorporated into Brother's stock, but the Brother we know today didn't really come into fruition until the seventies.
Brother's major change, and the accomplishment that put it on the electronics scene and has, in essence, kept it there ever since, came in 1971. In these earliest days of computing and printing, it was Brother who invented the very first high speed dot matrix printer. This achievement gave them the strong foothold on the business that was needed to withstand years of change in the industry, and hundreds of competitors.
Next on the list for Brother was electronic typewriters which they began designing and manufacturing in 1985. With typewriters, the brand began to shift to more business oriented products and away from household appliances such as sewing machines. Telecommunications, faxing, and even electronic stationary were all areas explored by the brand as the electronics age came into bloom.
Though Brother did continue to manufacture its original product, the sewing machine, it did so under various subsidiaries and titles such as Zhuhai Brother Industries Co., Xian Typical Brother Industries Co., and Brother Sewing Machine Xian Co., among others, but as the turn of the century came, the main brand continued to focus more and more on business related products; printers especially.
Another big moment in Brother history came in 2003. In this year, Brother began producing multifunctional devices under the still very popular label of Brother MFC, which stands for multi-functional center. Brother MFCs developed by expanding fax machine capabilities to incorporate printing and copying as well, which was only a small leap considering that the machines already had the hardware to perform these abilities, and lacked only the ability to interface with a PC. Almost ten years later, the Brother MFC is still one of the most popular selling multifunctional lines on the market.
Over the past 100 years, Brother has produced a range of products spanning from label printers, typewriters, fax machines, machine tools, and, of course, sewing machines (which they still produce). They have established a name for themselves that is synonymous with quality print hardware, and are almost guaranteed to be a key player in the print industry for many years to come, remaining, as their slogan points out, "at your side."