How did Fujitsu get its name?

BANGALORE, INDIA: We all have heard of the company Fujitsu. What do they exactly do? Are Fujitsu and Fuji the same company? These are some of the doubts one has about the company.

''People confuse our company's name with Mount Fuji. They think that we make Fuji films and cameras. But, it isn't so. How the name Fujitsu came about is a very interesting story,'' said Pallab Talukdar, Fujitsu India CEO, in an interaction with the CIOL team last week.

Here's how Fujitsu was formed

Fujitsu started of as a copper mining company called 'Furukawa Copper Mining' in the late 19th century. In order to utilize the copper they produced, the company tied up with the German company 'Siemens' in 1923, to make electrical machinery.

In 1935, the company decided to manufacture telecom equipment (relay switches, cables, etc.) instead of electrical machinery. The word telecom is called 'Tsuchinki' in Japanese.

Hence, Fujitsu is actually an acronym, in which FU stands for Furukawa, JI stands for Siemens (Japanese pronounce 'Siemens' as 'Jiemens') and TSU stands for Tsuchinki.

''What initially started off as a telecom company, then pioneered computers in Japan. Since the mid-'50s, Fujitsu has been the market leader in Japan,'' added Talukdar.

Fujitsu is currently the fourth largest ICT player in the world, after American companies HP, IBM and Dell. ''Fujitsu has a strong presence in Japan and a fairly-strong presence in Europe as well. We are now expanding our market in India,'' said the CEO.

They also have several products like personal computers, laptops, tablets, workstations, etc., which will be launched in India shortly.

''The plastic that we use to make our products is 98 to 99 per cent biodegradable,'' claims Talukdar.

The company, which has been in India for over two years now, currently has two units — Fujitsu Consulting and Fujitsu India. The company plans to expand its services all over the country.

''You expand globally but retain the local touch, that's what makes Fujitsu unique,'' concluded the CEO.