SANKOSHA

History

Sankosha's roots go back to 1968: the future founder Mitsuyuki Uchikoshi opened a small dry-cleaning shop called "Sankosha Dry Cleaning" in the Nakano district of Tokyo. In 1975 he began building his own cleaning equipment in the garage of his home in Chofu, and in 1979 the company was officially established with a plant built in the Hachioji district of Tokyo (some sources give the founding year as 1978 — in 2018 the 40th anniversary was marked in Tokyo).

In 1986–1987, the head office relocated to the Kanoyamachi district of Hachioji, and in 1988 the company converted into a joint-stock company (kabushiki-gaisha). By the late 1980s, Sankosha employed over 100 people — compared with roughly 60 at its closest competitor. In 1990, a second plant was built; during these years the company was recognized as the manufacturer with the largest share of Japan's commercial dry-cleaning machine market.

International expansion began in 1993 in the US — in Elk Grove Village near Chicago — with the opening of the Sankosha USA branch, which serves as the sales, spare-parts and warehousing hub for North America. New branches opened in Thailand in 2011 and in Dalian, China in 2015. Sankosha carries out more than 90% of production — from design and prototyping to assembly — in its own plant, allowing centralized quality control.

The company is best known for its automatic shirt folding machines and the "Sunformer" (CN-50) automatic shirt finisher; the latter achieved major market success. It also manufactures steam cabinets for restoring wool garments. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the company also developed protective screens called "Shop de Mask".

Known for

• Holds the world's largest market share in automatic shirt folding machines.
• "Sunformer" (CN-50) automatic shirt finisher — a product that achieved major market success.
• Over 90% of production takes place in its own factory — from design to assembly.
• Manufactures steam cabinets for restoring wool garments.
• Developed "Shop de Mask" protective screens during Covid-19.

Milestones

• 1968The founder opened a small dry-cleaning shop in Tokyo's Nakano district.
• 1979A factory was built in Hachioji, Tokyo, and the company was formally established.
• 1988Company converted into a joint-stock company (kabushiki-gaisha).
• 1993The Sankosha USA subsidiary opened in the USA (Elk Grove Village, Illinois).
• 2015New branch opened in Dalian, China.
• 2018Company's 40th anniversary celebrated in Tokyo.

Product lines

• Automatic shirt folding machines
• Ironing presses and form finishers
• Steam cabinets and restoration equipment
• Spare parts and accessories

Categories in the catalog