Silver Reed

Silver Reed was the principal international brand of Silver Seiko Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer that developed from a postwar knitting-machine business into a diversified producer of office, textile, and household equipment. The company began in October 1952 as Marukoshi Knitting Machinery Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, responding to demand for relatively affordable domestic textile equipment in postwar Japan. It adopted the name Silver Knitting Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in 1955 as it began selling knitting machines to Western markets, and used the Silver Seiko name from 1966. Its products were commonly marketed internationally under the Silver Reed name, although regional distributors and licensees also used labels such as KnitMaster, Empisal, Singer, and Studio. Knitting machines remained an important part of the business, but the company became especially visible in the typewriter market. Beginning in the 1960s, Silver Seiko produced compact manual typewriters, including the Silverette family and numerous related models. These machines were sold under Silver Reed branding, supplied to established typewriter companies as rebadged products, and produced for private-label retail programs. The compact metal-bodied designs were sold under names associated with Royal, Imperial, Remington, Underwood, Sears, Eaton's, and other distributors. The Royal Mercury and related variants were among the best-known rebranded examples. Their light weight, relatively full feature set, and low price made them significant competitors in the international portable-typewriter market. After entering typewriter production, Silver Seiko expanded into electric, electronic, and daisy-wheel machines. The 235-C and 255-C, introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s, used a golf-ball printing mechanism and were positioned against IBM Selectric office typewriters. The company subsequently introduced EX-series electronic typewriters and printers, including office and compact models. Its marketing included celebrity endorsements and broad international distribution. Silver Seiko also operated or established overseas business relationships, including Silver Seiko America in California, and at various points supplied products to major international brands. The company was listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1964 and moved to the first section in 1984. Its sales reached a reported peak of approximately 35.7 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 1985. The spread of personal computers and digital document technologies then weakened demand for mechanical and electronic typewriters, while the company’s wider diversification did not restore its former scale. In its later years, Silver Seiko offered an unusually broad range of products, including printers, shredders, paper-folding machines, copiers, air cleaners, ozone and hydrogen-water equipment, waste-processing devices, pitching machines, sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, word processors, and other specialized devices. Silver Seiko experienced financial distress in 2010 and was declared bankrupt after failing to meet its debts. Its shares were designated for delisting and were removed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in January 2011. A civil rehabilitation application was made later in 2011, but rehabilitation proceedings were subsequently terminated and bankruptcy proceedings commenced. The company was ultimately succeeded through a 2011 company split involving Lead Technos Co., Ltd. and Kashiwazaki US Tech Co., Ltd. Silver Reed therefore survives primarily as a historical brand associated with Japanese knitting machines and the global market for portable and rebadged typewriters, rather than as an active independent company.

Silver Reed originated in Tokyo in October 1952 as Marukoshi Knitting Machinery Co., Ltd. The business was established during Japan’s postwar recovery, when household textile equipment represented an accessible consumer and small-business opportunity. In 1955, the company became Silver Knitting Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and began pursuing Western markets. Its products were sold internationally under several regional names, including Silver Reed, KnitMaster, Empisal, Singer, and Studio. A series of corporate consolidations followed. In January 1964, Silver Knitting Machine Co., Ltd. merged with Silver Knitting Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and Silver Knitting Machine Sales Co., Ltd., with headquarters moving to Kodaira, Tokyo. The company was listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March 1964. In June 1967, it adopted the corporate name Silver Seiko Ltd., while Silver Reed remained an important commercial brand. The company was not part of the Seiko Group associated with watches and precision timekeeping. Silver Seiko entered personal typewriter production around the time of the 1966 corporate rebranding. It worked with the Japanese industrial design firm GK Design Group and competed with Brother and Nakajima in an increasingly international market. Its manual portable typewriters were sold under Silver Reed names, manufactured for other typewriter companies, and supplied to retailers as private-label products. The Silverette platform became one of its most recognizable families. These small machines generally combined a metal body, a business-size carriage, a carrying cover, and a broad set of office-oriented functions in a compact format. Numerous versions were marketed worldwide, including products sold as Royal Mercury and other Royal, Imperial, Remington, Underwood, and retail-brand models. The company’s low-priced manual typewriters made it part of wider trade tensions in the United States and Europe during the 1960s and 1970s. Japanese manufacturers, including Silver Seiko, Brother, and Nakajima, faced antidumping campaigns as their products expanded in Western markets. Silver Seiko’s relationship with Litton Industries helped give its portable machines international reach, although that arrangement ended in the 1970s. Around the same period, Silver Seiko increased production and established an American subsidiary. By the end of the 1970s, the company was producing tens of thousands of typewriters monthly and reporting substantial international sales. Silver Seiko moved beyond manual machines into electric and electronic typewriters, printers, and daisy-wheel technology. Its 235-C and 255-C models were developed as alternatives to IBM Selectric machines, using a golf-ball-style printing head with a microprocessor-based design. The EX series, introduced in the early 1980s, included office and compact electronic typewriters. Advertising for these products included endorsements by Martina Navratilova, Sidney Sheldon, and Jimmy Breslin. In 1984, Silver Seiko merged with Silver Office Machine Sales Co., Ltd. and was promoted to the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company’s sales peaked at approximately 35.7 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 1985. However, the spread of personal computers and digital word processing reduced demand for mechanical and dedicated electronic typewriters. Silver Seiko diversified into printers, copiers, shredders, paper-handling equipment, knitting and sewing machines, household appliances, air-treatment products, waste-processing devices, word processors, and other specialized equipment. A notable late product was the Porta Copy, a small handheld copier designed to scan and reproduce narrow continuous thermal paper. Silver Seiko closed its Kodaira factory in 1992 and moved its head office to Shinjuku in 1993. Financial deterioration continued as the company’s traditional markets contracted. It proposed changing its corporate name to Nupapa in 2010, but withdrew the plan. After failing to meet debts for a second time, Silver Seiko was declared bankrupt on December 28, 2010. Its shares were delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on January 29, 2011. The company applied for civil rehabilitation in September 2011, but the rehabilitation proceedings were abolished in December and bankruptcy proceedings began. A company split in 2011 transferred successor activities to Lead Technos Co., Ltd. and Kashiwazaki US Tech Co., Ltd. The Silver Reed name is now chiefly encountered in historical knitting-machine and typewriter collecting contexts.

• 2011

  Delisting and end of rehabilitation proceedings

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Shares are delisted, civil rehabilitation is sought and later abandoned, and successor entities take over activities through a company split.

• 2010

  Silver Seiko enters bankruptcy

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  The company is declared bankrupt after a second failure to meet debts.

• 1993

  Head office moves to Shinjuku

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Silver Seiko relocates its head office to Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.

• 1992

  Kodaira factory closes

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  The company closes its Kodaira factory as its manufacturing structure contracts.

• 1985

  Sales reach their reported peak

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Reported sales peak at approximately 35.7 billion yen for the fiscal year ending in March.

• 1984

  First-section Tokyo Stock Exchange listing

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Silver Seiko merges with Silver Office Machine Sales Co., Ltd. and moves to the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

• 1982

  EX-series electronic typewriters enter the market

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Silver Seiko introduces office and compact electronic typewriters in the EX series.

• 1981

  The 255-C is introduced

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Silver Seiko introduces the 255-C golf-ball typewriter as part of its competition with IBM Selectric office machines.

• 1979

  Silver Seiko expands typewriter production

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  The company reports substantial worldwide typewriter sales and production of approximately 40,000 machines per month.

• 1977

  Silver Seiko America is established

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  The company forms an American subsidiary in Torrance, California, supporting sales in the United States.

• 1967

  Corporate name changes to Silver Seiko

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  The company adopts the name Silver Seiko Ltd. and continues commercial activity under the Silver Reed brand.

• 1966

  Entry into personal typewriters

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  The company begins manufacturing personal manual typewriters and develops the product area that later becomes central to the Silver Reed legacy.

• 1964

  Corporate merger and Tokyo Stock Exchange listing

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Three Silver knitting-machine entities merge, headquarters move to Kodaira, and the company is listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

• 1955

  The company adopts the Silver Knitting Machine name

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  The business changes its name to Silver Knitting Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and begins selling knitting machines in Western markets.

• 1952

  Marukoshi Knitting Machinery is founded

  [1]Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org

  Marukoshi Knitting Machinery Co., Ltd. is established in Kamitakaido, Suginami-ku, Tokyo.

Affordable, compact, export-oriented equipment, with particular strength in domestic knitting machines and portable typewriters. The company also competed through contract manufacturing, rebadged products, and private-label distribution.

• Knitting machines · 1952

  Silver Reed knitting machines

  Knitting machines were the company’s original product category and remained an important part of its international identity. Depending on the market, related machines were sold under Silver Reed, KnitMaster, Empisal, Singer, and Studio names. They were designed for domestic and small-scale textile production and helped establish the company’s export business after the mid-1950s.

• Ultra-portable manual typewriter · 1960

  Silverette

  The Silverette was a compact manual typewriter platform sold in numerous versions from the 1960s into the 1970s. Despite its small size, many variants included a metal body, business-size carriage, adjustable line spacing, touch-set margins, ribbon reversal, and a carrying cover. The basic design was also adapted for international brands, private labels, and retailer programs.

• Electronic typewriter · 1979

  235-C

  The 235-C was one of Silver Seiko’s late-1970s electronic and golf-ball-style typewriters. It was developed to compete with IBM Selectric office machines, using a replaceable printing head and microprocessor-based control rather than IBM’s more mechanically complex tilt-and-rotate mechanism.

• Electronic typewriter · 1981

  255-C

  Introduced in the early 1980s, the 255-C extended Silver Seiko’s effort to challenge IBM in office typewriters. It used a golf-ball-style head and was part of the company’s transition from inexpensive mechanical portables toward electronically controlled office equipment.

• Daisy-wheel electronic typewriters · 1982

  EX series

  The EX family included office models such as the EX-50, EX-55, EX-66, EX-77, and EX-78, as well as compact models including the EX-42, EX-43N, and EX-44. These products placed Silver Seiko in the electronic typewriter and daisy-wheel segment during the early 1980s, when dedicated word-processing equipment was competing with increasingly capable computers.

• Handheld copier · 1986

  Porta Copy

  Porta Copy was a compact handheld copier introduced in the mid-1980s. It scanned documents approximately 3.25 inches wide and reproduced them on continuous thermal paper, representing Silver Seiko’s attempt to extend its office-equipment expertise into portable copying.

• 1982EX-series celebrity advertising

  United States · International markets

  Silver Seiko promoted its EX-series electronic typewriters through advertising that featured public figures including Martina Navratilova, Sidney Sheldon, and Jimmy Breslin.

  Outcome. The campaign supported the company’s effort to position its electronic typewriters as credible office and writing tools, although the broader market later shifted toward personal computers.

  Source

• 2011

  Transfer activities through a company splitOther

  Background

  Following bankruptcy and unsuccessful civil rehabilitation proceedings, Silver Seiko could no longer continue as an independent operating company.

  Action taken

  Activities were ultimately taken over through a company split involving Lead Technos Co., Ltd. and Kashiwazaki US Tech Co., Ltd.

  Aftermath

  Silver Seiko ceased to operate as the original independent company, while the Silver Reed legacy continued through surviving products and collectors’ markets.

  Source

• 2010

  Propose and withdraw a corporate name changeStrategy

  Background

  Silver Seiko was under financial pressure and had diversified far beyond its historic knitting-machine and typewriter businesses.

  Action taken

  The company announced a plan to change its name to Nupapa, then withdrew the proposal later in 2010.

  Aftermath

  The reversal preceded the company’s bankruptcy and did not resolve its financial problems.

  Source

• 1982

  Launch the EX electronic typewriter rangeProduct launch

  Background

  The company was diversifying from manual typewriters as office users increasingly sought electronic correction, printing, and word-processing functions.

  Action taken

  Silver Seiko introduced multiple EX-series office and compact electronic typewriters, including daisy-wheel models.

  Aftermath

  The products broadened Silver Seiko’s office-equipment portfolio, but did not prevent the long-term decline of dedicated typewriters.

  Source

• 1979

  Develop golf-ball typewritersGeneration change

  Background

  IBM Selectric dominated much of the office typewriter market, while Silver Seiko sought to apply its manufacturing and electronics capabilities to a higher-value segment.

  Action taken

  The company introduced the 235-C and later the 255-C, using a golf-ball-style printing head and microprocessor control.

  Aftermath

  The models gave Silver Seiko a direct competitive position against IBM in office typewriters, but the category was later weakened by digital computing.

  • IBM — IBM’s Selectric served as the principal benchmark and competitor for these machines.

  Source

• 1966

  Enter the personal typewriter marketProduct launch

  Background

  After establishing an export business in knitting machines, the company sought a broader office-equipment opportunity and entered competition with Brother and Nakajima.

  Action taken

  Silver Seiko began manufacturing personal manual typewriters under Silver Reed and other labels.

  Aftermath

  Typewriters became one of the company’s most visible international product categories, particularly through portable and rebadged models.

  • Brother Industries — Brother was another major Japanese typewriter manufacturer competing in the same international market.
  • Nakajima — Nakajima was a principal Japanese competitor in personal typewriters and later became involved in competing supply arrangements.

  Source

1. 1Silver Reeden.wikipedia.org