SuperPower Inc. is a world leading developer and producer of second-generation high-temperature superconducting (2G HTS) wire, providing enormous advantages over conventional conductors of electric power - high efficiency, smart grid compatible, green, clean, safe and secure. The company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., was formed in March 2000 to provide a strong focus for the development and commercialization of HTS technology for applications that benefit from high energy density.

FURUKAWA ELECTRIC
Innovation history since 1884.
The Furukawa Group's founder, Ichibei Furukawa, worked to build a new Japan with the aim of "making Japan brighter."
Having inherited Ichibei's idea, they have a great sense of mission to "make the world brighter."
Going forward, the Furukawa Electric Group will, as pledged in their corporate philosophy,
"contribute to the realization of a sustainable society" through continuous technological innovation.

1884~
Foundation & Dawning of a New Era
The origins of their company can be traced back to 1884, when Ichibei Furukawa first smelted copper in Honjo, Tokyo and Yamada Cable Works began manufacturing electrical cables in Takashima-cho, Yokohama.
The Furukawa Group's founder, Ichibei Furukawa, was born in Kyoto in 1832 and, showing a natural flair for business, became an executive of the Ono-gumi, a wealthy merchant house at that time. In 1877, he took over the operation of the Ashio Copper Mine. After overcoming a number of crises, he developed it into Japan's largest copper mine.
Their corporate logo, the Yamaichi mark, was established that year to represent the idea of specializing exclusively in mining.
He later installed some of the latest Western technologies, such as Japan's first full-scale hydroelectric power plant in 1890, and expanded operations on his way to building the foundations of the Furukawa Group.

1900~
Helping to Establish Japan's Social Infrastructure
Catering to demand for electricity and communications in the then undeveloped Japan, Furukawa Electric expanded production to include various rubber and cotton-covered wires, and in 1915 manufactured the nation's first submarine electric cable. The company continued to support the establishment of Japan's social infrastructure with its global quality technical capacity, such as by installing an antenna on Tokyo Tower, the country's largest radio tower at the time.
On the other hand, the company has diversified its business since early on, launching its R&D of lead-acid batteries in 1911 and establishing the Yokohama Rubber Company in 1917, Fuji Electric Manufacturing (now Fuji Electric) in 1923 and Furukawa Aluminium (now UACJ Corporation) in 1959.

1960~
Expanding Overseas
From this period, Furukawa Electric launched its full-scale efforts to enter the global market with the hope of spreading its technical strength around the world. While building up a track record in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, it established manufacturing plants from Southeast Asia all the way to Brazil, laying the foundations for today's globalization.
In 1987, it built a new research laboratory in Yokohama, which has created all sorts of world-leading technologies and products.

2000~
Speeding up Global Development
The expansion of free trade areas after the end of the Cold War accelerated the globalization of the world economy, which greatly sped up Furukawa Electric's global development too. In 2001, it bought out the optical fiber solution business of Lucent Technologies in the them, jumping straight into the group of global leaders in the optical fiber market.
Global attention is on Furukawa Electric's capacity for technological development, such as its superconducting wire materials used in the European LHC particle accelerator project, the largest in the world.