Since 1967, the Japanese company Sanyo has developed into a market-leading manufacturer of cotton swabs for general, medical and industrial applications and the range of uses for its high-quality products is expanding beyond these fields, too. A firm that boasts a 40% market share in Japan, Osaka-based Sanyo also has a growing presence overseas; indeed, 30% of its sales now come from exports.
Sanyo is defined by its quality commitment, says president Tsutomu Hibi. "One might look at our product and say, 'it's only a cotton swab', but our mission is to pursue the ultimate ideal of a cotton swab," he declares. "When we created the machine for producing our swabs, we went beyond the level of quality high-protypical of the low-mix, duction style of Swiss or Italian machines. They tear away the cotton and wrap it around a stick, but our method is fundamentally different. We compress the cotton into a very tight state, allowing us to make many different types of buds: small, extra-large, pointed, etc. We focus on quality. We want to make better and better products."
This story is from the January 27, 2023 edition of Newsweek Europe.
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This story is from the January 27, 2023 edition of Newsweek Europe.
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