August 1, 1912.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



545 



Important Japanese Companies 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



TSUDA COMPANY (PARTNERSHIP). 



ALTHOUGH the registration of this company as a partner- 

 ship only dates from August. 1906, it is the oldest electric 

 wire plant in Japan. Some sixty years ago it began to 

 manufacture copper wire, and was still doing so in 1880, when 

 further developments of the electrical industry took place. 



In that year, with a view of meeting the demand then opening, 

 the company started the manufacture of copper wire for tele- 

 phones, being the first concern in Japan to do so. When in 1884 

 electric lighting began to assume importance, the company under- 

 took the manufacture of cotton-braided copper wire, which it 

 supplied to many Japanese electric light companies. Following up 

 the other applications of electricity, the company subsequently 

 commenced to manufacture copper wire for electric car purposes. 

 The products of the Tsuda Company are now therefore rubber 

 wires and cotton-braided wires, subjected to tests of high insu- 

 lating and high-pressure apparatus, as well as copper wires for 

 electric cars and other purposes. The total annual value of the 

 product amounts to $4,500,000, while its distribution extends to 

 Japan, Corea, Manchuria and China. The various plants operated 

 by the company are as follows : 



(1) Copper works at Fushimi. 



(2) Tubing and braiding factories at three points. 



(3) Finishing factory at Fushimi- Yamaski-Cho, Kyoto-Fu. 



In all, the plants occupy an area of about six acres, of which 

 one-half is built upon, while the installation includes : 

 20 Copper wire manufacturing machines; 

 4 Rubber washing and mixing rolls and calenders ; 

 2 Rubber tubing machines ; 



2 Stranding machines ; 

 370 Braiding machines ; 



3 Rubber taping machines. 

 The motive power comprises : 



Boilers— One 150 H.P., one 35 H.P.; 

 Turbine— One 200 H.P. ; 

 Dynamo— One 85 H.P. 

 The working staff numbers 284 male and 95 female hands. The 

 company's representative is Mr. Kosaburo Tsuda. 



$100,000. Originally established in 1906 as the Kakuichi Rubber 

 Works, it was registered as a limited partnership under its pres- 

 ent title in March, 1910. 



Its manufactures include rubber rolls, plates and tubes; ebonite; 

 cycle and jinrikisha tires, as well as other goods for railways and 



\\ .\smxG Roll, IMi.xing Roll and Calender. 

 Kakuichi Rubber Co. 



KAKUICHI RUBBER CO. (LIMITED PARTNERSHIP). 

 This concern is one of the largest Japanese rubber manufac- 

 turing companies, and is situated at Osaka. The owners of the 

 concern are Messrs. Kinjino and Ilikotaro Abe, belonging to one 

 of the wealthiest Osaka families. The capital (all paid up), is 



Hydraulic Vulcanizing Press Room. 

 The Kakuichi Rubber Co. 



ships. It also makes surgical and electrical instruments. The 

 motive power includes : 



2 Boilers, each 50 H.P.; 

 1 Compound engine, 120 H. P., 

 (all made in Japan.) 



The machinery was imported from England or the United 

 States, and comprises : 



2 washing rolls, 7 mixing rolls, 2 calenders, 2 hydraulic pumps, 

 3 vulcanizing presses, 3 hydraulic vulcanizing presses, 14 vul- 

 canizing pans, 3 tubing machines, 2 braiding machines, 1 accumu- 

 lator w-eight, 2 cloth wrapping machines, 1 coiling machine, 1 

 spreading machine. 



In addition to these imported machines, there is a cutting ma- 

 chine for rubber "tabi" soles, constructed in Japan, besides some 

 2.(X)0 molds of Japanese manufacture. 



There is a complete machine shop for the repair of machinery 

 and the manufacture of molds. The staff numbers ISO hands, 

 part of each sex. The area occupied by the company is a little 

 over one acre, about two-thirds of which is covered by the ten 

 factory buildings. 



The company has been awarded three gold medals, in addition 

 to one silver and one copper medal. 



Annexed illustrations show two interior views of the Kakuichi 

 factory. One represents the rubber washing and mixing rolls 

 and calender, while the other shows the vulcanizing press room. 



NEW EUROPEAN RUBBER FACTORIES. 



A new company styled "Austria," has been registered at 

 Tetschen, Bohemia, for the manufacture of stuffing-box packings. 



The erection of a factory, to make hard and soft rubber goods, 

 for surgical and technical purposes, is said to be contemplated 

 at Lisbon, Portugal. Reports state that the business is being 

 started by the Societe Industrielle du Caoutchouc, of Paris, 

 under local management in Lisbon. 



Reports from Hanover state that the recently established re- 

 generating concern, the Hannoversche Gummi-Regenerier Werke 

 Luttermann & Co., Hanover, has erected a factory, with an 

 up-to-date equipment, every effort having been directed to render- 

 ing the installation as complete as possible. 



