Casio (1946)

 

Tadao Kashio in the mid 80’s

Tadao was born in poor family on 26th November,1917, in Kureta-mura (now Nankoku City) in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. In 1923, came to Tokyo with his family, after Great Kanto Earthquake. He completed his primary study, and at the age of 14, he start working in Machine Tool Factory. After several jobs Tadao Kashio founded Kashio Seisansho, later Casio Computer Co Ltd in April 1946. The company started with aircraft parts and other products but Toshio the founder’s brother suggested to move on to the calculator market.

The Casio 101

Most calculators at that time were electrical devices, in which electrical power was used to drive internal gears. The four Kashio brothers however used Relay switches to develop the compact, all electric calculators. The first gear-less calculator Model 14-A was launched in June 1957, which also marked the establishment of Casio Computer, Co., LTD. Since those beginnings Casio showed up to be a leader in pioneering new calculators products for both Office and scientific use. On September 1965 Casio released Model 001, the first transistor calculator and marked the beginning of a new era when calculators became small to fit on the desktop. However, prices were very high to be reached by individual customers, so Kazuo Kashio, who was in charge of marketing, decided to produce a calculator that could be afforded by the individual consumer.

The result was a Palm size Casio Mini that was released in August 1972, and promoted by a TV commercial. The Casio mini soon dominated the market and made the calculator part of everyday use. The digital technology that Casio had created was implemented into a new sector, and by producing other products that helped the company to expand its possibilities. In November 1975, Casio released the Casiotron, a digital watch capable of displaying a full calendar date and time. The development of the Casiotron was based on the unique concept of  “time is a continuous process of addition”.

In the beginning of 1980 Casio ventured into the world of music by releasing their first electronic musical instrument code-named Casiotone 201. Casiotone 201 generated the sound by using digital calculations. Since then with the use of digital technology, Casio had produced a wide range of products such as portable TV’s, scientific calculators, portable computers, Japanese word processors, and other innovative new products that have revolutionize our day-to-day living. On 4th March, 1993 the company lost his founder. He died in a hospital in Tokyo at the age of 75 due to respiratory failure. Recent Casio products include the world’s first mass market digital camera and the Cassiopeia hand held PC with Windows CE built in. Casio is still studying and trying to find ideas that will help us improve our lives and benefit the most from today’s technology.