History of Brother
Date Posted:1 January 2019
Read about this remarkable company and you’ll understand why Echidna Sewing is so committed to Brother products.
Brother dates back to 1908 when Kanekichi Yasui established YASUI SEWING MACHINE CO which focused on the repair of sewing machines and production of machine parts.
At this time the market was still based on imported sewing machines.
Kanekichi sent his two sons Masayoshi and Tokio to Osaka as apprentices where they witnessed the state of the sewing machine industry in Japan and questioned why Japan was not able to manufacture a sewing machine domestically.
At the age of 16, Masayoshi took over the business and manufactured the hydraulic machine for manufacturing straw hats.
Soon after the Yasui brothers manufactured the "chain-stitch sewing machine" for making straw hats. The chain-stitch sewing machine became popular for its durability in comparison to imported sewing machines, slowly the need for repair decreased.
This was the beginning of the BROTHER brand which symbolizes the cooperation of the two brothers which led to the creation of the sewing machine.
The Yasui brothers succeeded in mass producing the shuttle hooks in 1932 for the first time in Japan, by creating machine facilities to manufacture the shuttle hook with one's own hands.
In the same year, their goal of manufacturing sewing machines domestically was achieved with the birth of the first home straight lock stitch sewing machine.
While the straight lock stitch sewing machine for home usage increased sales, the demand grew for military-use sewing machines.
Brother invented an automatic gear cutter to mass produce industrial sewing machines. In 1936, an industrial sewing machine was manufactured.
1971 - 10 Millionth sewing machine produced
With the electronization of products we got to see the release of the first electrical sewing machine "Compal DX".
The release of the PC-7000, a computerized sewing machine with embroidery function. A memory card enabled the reproduction of 900 types of patterns, and colourful embroidery using a maximum of 5 colours.
Functions such as video tutorials showing basic operations and sewing methods, an automatic thread cutter, and automatic thread tension adjuster, all made it easy to use.
Brother celebrates 100 years of business with the release of the Quattro, the ultimate partner in sewing, embroidery, quilting and crafting. The Quattro featured industry firsts such as InnovEye™ Technology, an Up Close™ Viewer function and Runway™Lighting
Brother announces the release of the PR1000 a Multi-needle Embroidery Machine. With a stitch speed of up to 1000 stitches per minute, allows completion of most multi-colour designs faster, easier, and with greater precision.
The Dream Machine, the ultimate creative partner with My Design Center which integrates InnovEye 2 Technology with design techniques such as line art scanning, illustration scanning and the ability to create stippling and free-motion-like stitching without the use of a PC, software or stitch regulation.
In 2018 we witnessed the release of the Luminaire and its revolutionary StitchVision Technology which, through an innovative projection of light allows you to preview stitches and embroidery designs directly onto your fabric.
Want to know more? Visit the Brother global website for loads of interesting facts.
