16.(4) Industrial Department Business

(a) Silk textile factory

Japanese name: TozanSilk Weaving Factory

Brazilian name: Tesselazen Deseda Paulicea Limitada

Our company had been planning to enter the spinning business in Brazil, and the first step was to start producing genuine silk weaving. In 1937, we acquired a silk textile factory in São Paulo that was run by a foreigner, inherited its equipment, and began operations. The feature of this factory is that it relies on Japanese raw silk as its main raw material and incorporates excellent Japanese technology.Moreover, at the time, the export of raw silk from our country was a serious national issue, so we were able to solve this problem. This was a very significant project as it was used as a method for processing raw silk. Since then, we have expanded our facilities several times, and we have brought in weaving (textile) engineers from Japan with many years of practical experience in the home prefecture of Fukui, with the hope of establishing a firm foothold as a domestic business in Brazil. We have devoted continuous research and effort. Nowadays, it has become widely popular among Brazilians as a textile made from Japanese raw silk. Currently, it has 128 looms, 200 female workers, and a daily production capacity of 2,000 meters of wide fabrics, and the dyeing and printing factory equipment has recently been completed, from high-end products for the upstream market to general products for the local market. Various products are being manufactured. In addition, some parts are finished to the level of habutae at the attached habutae factory.

Our factory has two service stations located in the center of Sao Paulo city, which we have named “Kiito (Raw Silk)”, and are working to sell and promote our products. In this way, it plays an important role in not only introducing the excellence of Japanese-produced silk but also in developing Japan’s trade with Brazil.