Corporate Information

Brother Group History

1980s: Progressing into the Information and Communications Equipment Field and Expanding the Industrial Equipment Business

In 1982, Brother developed an electronic personal printer equipped with thermal printing technology. Later, this technology was applied to label printers, the products with which Brother has high market shares today. In the late 1980s, Brother also developed thermal fax machines and laser printers, entering into the information and communications equipment field. In 1985, Brother released the CNC* Tapping Center, a tapping machine equipped with a numerical control system, and dramatically advanced its industrial equipment business.

Chronology

1980

Production of JP15 "EM-1" electronic office typewriters with linear motor mechanism started.

Electronic office typewriter EM-1Electronic office typewriter
EM-1

1982

Production of the world’s smallest EP-20 electronic personal printers with a full keyboard started.

Electronic personal printer EP-20Electronic personal printer EP-20

1983 Production of ZZ2-B850 "COMPAL α" home sewing machines with sound started.
1984 Production of the first domestically produced Japanese-language word processors for personal use started.
1985 BROTHER INDUSTRIES (U.K.) LTD. established in the U.K. as a typewriter manufacturing company.
1985 CNC tapping center TC-211 integrating a numerical control system into a tapping machine launched in Japan.
1986 BROTHER INDUSTRIES (U.S.A.) INC. established in the U.S. as a typewriter manufacturing company.
1987

Entry into the information and communications equipment field. FAX-100 launched.

FAX-100FAX-100

1987 Production of HL-8 laser printers started.
1988

OEM "P-touch" label writers using thermal transfer technology for Japanese specifications launched.

P-touch label writer"P-touch" label writer

1989 BROTHER INDUSTRIES TECHNOLOGY (M) SDN. BHD. established in Malaysia. Production of information processing product components started.
  • Stands for Computer Numerical Control

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