1968
Panasonic's 50th anniversary marked
Company's 50th anniversary celebration at Panasonic Arena in Hirakata.
Company-wide celebration of expanded production capacity
In 1967, one year before the company's 50th anniversary, President Masaharu Matsushita announced the company's first management slogan at the annual management policy meeting, outlining three goals: to promote management by ail to make the company outstanding in world-class terms; to make creative efforts to double productivity (specifically doubling the employee-to-sale ratio within two years); and to develop innovative new products based on cutting-edge technology.
The company's 50th anniversary provided an opportunity for it to instill discipline and control a tendency towards lax management and extravagance that could have developed as the company expanded its range of products. The company also hosted many special celebrations to thank the retail store associations and other Panasonic affiliated companies and organizations, and honor individuals who had contributed to the company's growth over its half-century of operations.
The company also marked the year by contributing 5 billion to a fund for prevention of traffic accidents involving children, and started a policy of building plants in regions suffering from depopulation to give young adults an incentive to stay in their home communities.
Company-wide efforts, combined with a positive economic climate, resulted in an amazing sales growth of 34.5% in 1968.
Innovative Product: Zinc oxide varistor ZNR
The world's first zinc oxide varistor was developed in 1968 by employing zinc oxide (ZnO) to make varistors (nonlinear resistor devices) for practical use. The theory behind the development was a pulse voltage suppression for practical use in TV receivers. Licensing agreements were made with leading world manufacturers, including General Electric and Westinghouse in the U.S. and Asea in Sweden. In addition, its application of protecting against lightning surges in semiconductor devices, made possible an advancement in the use of more electronic and semiconductor devices in home electric appliances, communications equipment, industrial machinery, and electrical machinery. It was also applied to lightning surge arrester devices in a wide range of fields, thus greatly contributing to improved reliability in lightning surge arresters.