(Excerpt from "70 Excellent Machine Manufacturers in Kansai", Nikkan Kyogo Press, 2008)

STRUCTURAL STEEL MACHINE LEADER --- DAITO SEIKI

STARTING FROM THE GROUND UP
Daito Seiki. Co., Ltd. was founded in 1959 by president Sugimoto at the age of 26. Mr. Sugimoto excelled at machine designing and had initially started the company as a band sawing specialist with very little capital and no employees. At the very beginning, the company had an extremely hard time in every field such as manufacturing, sales, fund raising and recruiting. Being a new company to the market, sales stayed very low for years.

LEAP WITH STRUCTURAL SAW
Around 1968, the structural H beam had become more popular in the construction industry, and the demand for a band saw for structural material was growing. President Sugimoto caught the marketfs needs by developing a new band saw specially designed for structural H beams and acquired the related patents.

This structural band saw was a huge success making Daito one of the leading manufacturers in the structural sawing market. In 1974, the company obtained an investment from the governmental venture capital and consolidated its management foundation.
Bandsawing Machine
for Structural Steel		 Drilling Machine
for Structural Steel

Following the success of the structural band sawing machine, the company developed a drilling machine for structural H beams that can drill holes simultaneously with 3 spindles in 3 directions. The design of the drilling machine is very unique with patents by Daito. The drilling machine had become Daitofs second successful machine. Later the saw and drill combination would be linked with roller tables and computerized, and marketed as a "Structural Steel Processing System".
The system made for Daitofs third big hit at the economic boom in the late 1980s.
Structural Steel Processing System

For the development/marketing of the sawing/drilling machines, President Sugimoto received the industrial minister award in 1998, and was honored by the Japanese government in 1999.

SPECIALIZING IN SPECIAL FIELD
After the economic boom, sales for the company diminished drastically. However the company kept on investing in its technology and developed the following machines one after another: gDrill-Sawh, a drilling and sawing combination machine; gH-Scalerh, a scaling machine for structural H beam splicing; gTriple Saws", a circular sawing machine for structural H beams, that utilizes 3 circular blades cutting simultaneously.
Drill-Saw H-Scaler Triple Saws

By specializing in the structural field consistently, the company was able overcome its many hardships. In addition to the investment, the company refined its existing products, and support after the sale. As a result, the company increased Daito fans substantially. The reputation of the company today is very favorable all over the world.

Daito has established itself as one of the top leaders in the structural saw/drill field with the top share of the Japanese market. At the same time, the company has also invested in the development of band sawing machines for alloy steel, hard-to-cut material during these years and has rapidly increased its market share.
Bandsawing Machines for Alloy Steel

SPECIALIZING FURTHER
Although the company is affected by the ups and downs of the Japanese domestic economy, this limited market has huge potential and a strong demand for quality equipment. The company is manufacturing a wide variety of products in small quantities, and lately the large and sophisticated machines have increasingly become custom made to order. The key to the company's growth is the technological response to the diversified and sophisticated market requirements.  In this sense, the R & D orientation of the company is best fitted to the market. The strategy of Daito to specialize in the special fields has been consistent, and will remain to be in the future.