1940–
| 1940 | Founded by Yo Sato as a manufacturer of bamboo processing machinery. |
|---|---|
| 1951 | Established joint stock company SATO Bamboo Machinery Works in Omiya, Saitama Prefecture. |
| 1958 |
Launched production and sales of rattan packaging machines developed by SATO. |
| 1959 |
Relocated headquarters to Kanda-Nishikicho, Tokyo. |
1960–
| 1960 | Renamed SATO Machinery & Engineering Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| 1962 | Launched production and sales of the hand labeler, invented by SATO. |
| 1965 | Began in-house production of labels for hand labelers. |
| 1968 |
Started operations of new factory in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture (now Kitakami Operations). |
| 1969 | Relocated headquarters to Nihonbashi-Kayabacho, Tokyo. |
| Adopted "Ceaseless Creativity" as the corporate motto. | |
| 1971 |
Relocated headquarters to Shibuya, Tokyo. |
| 1974 |
Renamed SATO Corporation. |
| 1976 |
Introduced a daily reporting system that would become Teiho. |
| 1978 |
Created SATO’s Basic Management Policies and The Basic Principles of How to Work. |
| 1979 |
Began production of primary labels and stickers. |
1980–
| 1981 | Launched M-2311, the world's first thermal transfer barcode printer. |
|---|---|
| 1986 | Established factory in Malaysia (absorbed by SATO Malaysia Electronics Manufacturing Sdn.Bhd. in 2011) for the production of hand labelers. |
| 1987 | Established group company in the U.S. (now SATO America, LLC). |
| Established group company in Singapore (now SATO Asia Pacific Pte.Ltd.). | |
| Established factory in Malaysia (now SATO Malaysia Electronics Manufacturing Sdn.Bhd.) for the production of printers. | |
| 1989 |
Established group company in Germany (integrated into SATO Europe GmbH in 2015). |
| 1990 | Marked the 50th year in business. |
| Registered for over-the-counter trading at Japan Securities Dealers Association. | |
| 1991 |
Established SATO Techno Center in Omiya for R&D activities. |
| 1994 |
Listed on the second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. |
| 1996 | Established group company in Malaysia (now SATO Auto-ID Malaysia Sdn.Bhd.). |
| Acquired Nor Systems Ltd. in UK (now SATO UK Ltd.). | |
| 1997 |
Listed on the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange. |
| 1999 |
Established logistics center in Kazo, Saitama (now East Japan Logistics Center). |
2000–
| 2000 | Marked the 60th year in business. |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Established company in Singapore to oversee global operations (absorbed by Japan headquarters in 2009). |
| Established group company in Thailand (renamed SATO Auto-ID (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in 2005). | |
| 2002 | Established SATO Polska SP. Z O.O. in Poland. |
| Published "The Spirit of SATO," a handbook that serves as the code of conduct for employees. | |
| Established SATO Shanghai Co., Ltd. in China. | |
| Established group company in Belgium (absorbed by SATO Europe GmbH in 2015). | |
| 2003 | Relocated headquarters to Ebisu, Tokyo. |
| Began production of RFID printers. | |
| 2004 | Established SATO Vietnam Co., Ltd. in Vietnam for the production of printers. |
| Established SATO Auto-ID Malaysia Sdn.Bhd. in Malaysia. | |
| 2005 |
Acquired L'Etiquetage Rationnel S.A. in France (now SATO France S.A.S.). |
| 2006 |
Acquired barcode systems businesses of U.S. company Checkpoint Systems, Inc.
|
| Established SATO Printing Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2018). | |
| Established SATO Business Services Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Holdings Corporation in 2012). | |
| Established SATO Logistics Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2014). | |
| Established SATO System Support Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2014). | |
| SATO New Zealand Ltd. acquired auto-ID technology related businesses of local company Walker Datavision Ltd. | |
| Established group company in Sweden to provide technical/business support for Europe operations (now SATO Techno Lab Europe AB). | |
| 2007 | Established company in the U.S. to oversee regional operations (absorbed by the now-SATO America, LLC in 2007). |
| Established company in Singapore to oversee Asia Pacific operations (restructured and absorbed by SATO Global Business Services Pte. Ltd. in 2015). | |
| Restructured group company in Belgium to oversee Europe operations (integrated into SATO Europe GmbH in 2015). | |
| Established SATO Intellectual Property Institute (absorbed by SATO Holdings Corporation in 2013). | |
| 2009 | Acquired software development company InOut (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2014). |
| Established SATO Global Business Services Pte. Ltd. in Singapore for shared services. | |
| 2010 | Marked the 70th year in business. |
| Established group company in the Netherlands (absorbed by SATO Europe GmbH in 2015). | |
| Acquired Nodos S.A. in Argentina (now SATO Argentina S.A.). | |
| Relocated headquarters to Shimomeguro, Tokyo. | |
| Established label production facility in Europe (absorbed by SATO Polska SP. Z O.O. in 2015). | |
| Acquired Sankyo Printing (renamed SATO Impress Co., Ltd. in 2015). | |
| Established group company in Germany (absorbed by SATO Europe GmbH in 2015). | |
| 2011 | Acquired Nitta Industry Co., Ltd. to establish SATO Material Co., Ltd. |
| Established SATO Operations Support Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2014). | |
| Acquired Europen Do Brasil Ltda. in Brazil (renamed SATO Auto-ID do Brasil Ltda. in 2012). | |
Transitioned to holding company structure.
|
|
| Acquired Wuxi Songxing Electronic Components Co., Ltd. in China. | |
| 2012 | Acquired Argox Information Co., Ltd. in Taiwan. |
| Established group company in India (now SATO Argox India Pvt. Ltd.). | |
| Acquired Achernar S.A.in Argentina. | |
| Established SATO Advance Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2018). | |
| Established PT. SATO Nagatomi as a joint venture between SATO and PT. Indonagatomi in Indonesia (renamed PT. SATO Label Indonesia in 2016). | |
| Established SATO Vietnam Solutions Co., Ltd. in Vietnam. | |
| 2013 | Named to the Diversity Management Selection 100 initiated by the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. |
| Established SATO RFID Solutions Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2015). | |
| Established SATO Primary Label International Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2020). | |
| Established SATO Green Engineering Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2020). | |
| Acquired proprietary RFID business of Australian company Magellan Technology to establish SATO Vicinity Pty Ltd. | |
| 2014 | Established SATO Healthcare Co., Ltd. |
| Established SATO Global Solutions, Inc. in the U.S. for auto-ID system integration business (dissolved in 2019). | |
| Established SATO International Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2020). | |
| Established SATO Global Solutions, Inc. in the U.S. for auto-ID system integration business (dissolved in 2019). | |
| Acquired Okil-Holding, JSC in Russia. | |
| 2015 | Reported annual revenue exceeding JPY 100,000 million on a consolidated basis. |
| Established Design Promotion Co., Ltd. (absorbed by SATO Corporation in 2020). | |
| Established SATO Solution Architects Co., Ltd. (completed stock transfer to CRE, Inc. in 2022) | |
| SATO New Zealand Ltd. acquired labeling business of local company Jenkins Labels Limited. | |
| Established SATO Healthcare Australia Pty Ltd in Australia. | |
| Launched its CL4/6NX printer series as the world’s first industrial IoT printing solution compatible with SOS (SATO Online Services). | |
| Acquired Prakolar Rotulos Auto-Adesivos S.A.in Brazil (renamed Prakolar Rotulos Autoadesivos Ltda.in 2017). | |
| 2016 |
Established PT. SATO Label Solutions in Indonesia. |
| 2017 | Crossed the 5,000 mark in total number of group employees. |
| Established SATO Philippines AIDC Solutions Inc. and SATO Philippines Auto-ID SP Inc. in the Philippines. | |
| Acquired DataLase Ltd. in UK. (completed share transfer by management buyout in 2020) | |
| Established SATO Taiwan Co., Ltd. in Taiwan. | |
| Began production of custom RFID tags/labels of made-in-Japan quality at Kitakami Operations. | |
| Named to the Health & Productivity Stock Selection and White 500 Companies for wellness management, both by the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). | |
| 2018 |
Established SATO Healthcare Switzerland AG in Switzerland. |
| 2019 | Received the Commissioner of the JPO Award from the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan Patent Office. |
| Established SATO Productivity Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V. in Mexico. |
2020–
| 2020 |
Marked the 80th year in business. |
|---|---|
| Completed management buyout (MBO) of DataLase Ltd., transfering all shares to DataLase Holdings Limited | |
| Relocated headquarters to Shibaura, Tokyo (Tamachi). | |
| 2022 |
Reassigned to the prime market from the first section on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under the TSE's new listing structure. |
| 2023 |
Acquired Stafford Press, Inc. in U.S. through stock transfer to SATO International America, Inc. |
| 2025 |
SATO Holdings Corporation absorbed and changed its name to that of its wholly owned subsidiary, SATO Corporation. |
