November 6, 2002 On November 6, 2002 Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd., proudly celebrated the achievement of having produced 40 million household sewing machines since its foundation. At a ceremony, held at Janome’s Tokyo headquarters, the 40 millionth sewing machine (a Memory Craft 10000, assembled at its Tokyo factory) was presented to attending guests by Janome president Mr. Koichi Seki. President Mr. Seki delivers his celebratory speech alongside the 40 millionth sewing machine Established in 1921, Janome was the first domestic producer of sewing machines in Japan. Such was its success that additional production facilities were set up in Taiwan (1969) and Thailand (1988). Together these factories greatly increased the production capacity of Janome; in fact an incredible 10 million units were produced in the last 7 years. This year alone, these plants have yielded 1.6 million units, making Janome the largest manufacturer of household sewing machines in the world. Today, each Janome factory specializes in producing a range of models aimed at a specific market. The Tokyo factory makes top of the line models, primarily computerized embroidery sewing machines, the Taiwan factory specializes in mid-range models including electronic and computerized sewing machines and the Thai factory focuses on the manufacture of budget machines. Accreditation of international production and environmental standards, underpins the quality and reliability of Janome products. Whilst celebrating this monumental achievement, Janome accepts that it must not take its No. 1 position for granted. In future, every effort will be made to develop new, exciting and more advanced products to meet the needs of the market, always taking into account environmental considerations. Janome recognizes the importance of their customers because without them, this accomplishment would never have been realized. 1. History prior to the 40 millionth achievement Production of the 10 millionth machine: September, 1970 Production of the 20 millionth machine: August, 1983 Production of the 30 millionth machine: February, 1995 2. Production Breakdown In Japan: 20 million units Overseas: 20 million units /18 million units in Taiwan /2 million units in Thailand 3. Janome’s production facilities Tokyo factory Location: Tokyo, Japan Employees: 150 Production: 50,000 units a year ISO: ISO14001/ISO9002 approved in Oct. 2000 and Dec. 1997 respectively Taiwan Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. Location: Taichung, Taiwan R.O.C. Employees: 1,000 Production: 1,200,000 units a year ISO: ISO14001/ISO9002 approved in May 2002 and Feb. 1995 respectively Thai Janome Co., Ltd. Location: Sriracha, Thailand Employees: 600 Production: 350,000 units a year ISO: ISO9002 approved in April 2000 October 1, 2002 #1016 Teddy Bear Collection Embroidery Card and CD-ROM are available now. These beautiful bears can be combined with the iron on transfer images. One free stitch sample and four types of iron on transfer images are available free of charge from the Janome Global Site or from your Janome web sites. Free download 1: One cute Teddy Bear waving a flag can be downloaded from the “Free Download” page of the Janome Global Site or at your Janome web sites. Format type: .jef Stitches: 4,769 Size: 5.35 cm (H) X 7.62 cm (W) Free download 2: Four types of iron on transfer images can be downloaded from the “Free Download” page of the Janome Global Site or from your Janome web sites. June 10, 2002 Taiwan Janome Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. (President: Mr. Mamoru Suzuki) acquired ISO 14001 certification (International Standard for Environmental Management System) on May 10, 2002. Among the Janome group, the Tokyo factory in Japan obtained ISO 14001 certification in October 2000. We intend to maintain and improve our environmental management system to cope with the environmental impact caused by our business operations. ISO 14001: ISO 14001 was first published in 1996 and specifies the actual requirements for an environmental management system. It applies to those environmental aspects which the organization has control and which it can be expected to have an influence. June 3, 2002 On May 6, 2002 Taiwan Janome was introduced in the magazine "Business Weekly". According to the magazine, Taiwan Janome was ranked at 262nd among the top 1,000 companies on a turnover basis in the year 2001. They had ranked at 329th and 285th in the year 2000 & 1999 respectively. In the magazine, they were also ranked at 32nd in the "Foreign companies" category and at 2nd as "Machinery producers".