About us

Toshiba has had a presence in this region for over three decades. We started business in the Middle East and Africa in 1963, dealing in both heavy electrical apparatus and consumer products. In 1965 our first regional office was established in Beirut. We are and have been involved in many power-supply related projects in the Gulf.

Toshiba Gulf Fze was registered in January 1997 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation. The main reason for its establishment was to reinforce our regional business and to prepare for future expansion. The Middle East and Africa had enjoyed steady growth till around ten years ago when there was a slump in the market. After hitting a low in 1994-1995, we are now seeing signs of recovery and are looking to strengthen our presence here. Establishing Toshiba Gulf Fze gives us a lot more freedom in our sales activities. Dubai was the obvious choice due to its position as the commercial and logistics center of the Gulf and the Jebel Ali Free Zone enhances these strengths by offering benefits like 100 per cent ownership and exemption from corporate taxes for 15 years.

Toshiba's excellence in technology, products, systems and services, and the quality and reliability for which we are known and respected, all derive from the passion and determination that the people of Toshiba bring to the pursuit of innovation and progress.

As individuals, we seek out the new and develop original concepts and expertise. We bring passion and dedication to the workplace and welcome responsibility. We are quick to decide and resolute in action.

Our combined efforts inspire our customers. Our powers of innovation deliver comfort, security and affluence. Working together, we make dreams come true, contribute to richer lifestyles and to a better world.

On 18th September 1799, Hisashige Tanaka was born, the child of a tortoise-shell craftsman. From an early age he enjoyed making trick toys, starting with a clever pencil case that no one could open, however hard they tried. Hisashige's creative spirit continued and he made many other smart toys. The most famous of which 'Yumihiki Douji' - a doll which fired an arrow from a bow hitting a target two metres away, every time.

Hisashige worked hard. He studied maths and astronomy and used his unique imagination to invent many things. A light burning ten times brighter than a candle. A wind-up clock keeping perfect time for over 200 days. His work even went into the field of heavy industries, where he developed steam trains, steam ships and cannons.

In 1875, he established a company "Tanaka Engineering Works" which we all now know as "Toshiba". Today, individuals around the world are living Hisashige's dream, using their imaginations to turn inspirational ideas into products and systems that enhance the world we live in.

For more than a century and a quarter, Toshiba has been a leader among Japan's largest and most energetic industrial enterprises. From power plants and bullet trains to mobile phones and sub-micron technologies, we are known around the world for our cutting edge televisions, portable PCs, DVD players and drives, and supporting electronic devices. With technologies pouring in from more than thirty separate R&D laboratories and over 300 subsidiary companies around the world, we have a towering profile and a technology leadership that has resulted in many world firsts.

Despite our global reputation for R&D excellence, we work with other global brands to stay at the forefront of developments and be present in key business markets. NEC, Panasonic, SanDisk, Samsung, Sony and IBM are just some of the companies that we have recently formed alliances with. From our origins as an electrical machinery manufacturer in 1875 through to our current global, high-Technology pre-eminence, we have guided ourselves by a universal set of values that lie at the heart of our identity, 'Committed to People, Committed to the Future'.

Toshiba has provided the world's fastest elevators in the world's tallest building, the Taipei Financial Center. Two of the 63 elevators are ultra high-speed, reaching an incredible speed of 1000 metres per minute - all in quiet, vibration-free comfort.

In Japan we supply over 70% of the key electrics in "Tsubame", the Kyushu bullet train. Another demonstration of our wide capabilities in promoting safe, record-breaking high-speed transport.

Qosmio demonstrates how we are using our computing and consumer electronics expertise to meet the rising demand for simple, personal entertainment solutions. Meaning 'my personal cosmos', it is the first of its kind, offering consumers a unique "4-in-1" experience with TV, audio, DVD recorder and PC functionality. We are actively promoting flat-panel LCD and plasma display TVs, while developing with Canon the next-generation of display for high-definition content, SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display).

Toshiba is one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers in the world, and inventor and world leader in NAND flash memory. Toshiba's NAND chips are widely used in various types of memory cards such as SD™ Card, SmartMedia™ and CompactFlash™. The company also holds more technology patents than any other PC vendor.

Ranked high in the world, our power systems business will enhance its presence further in the global marketplace. Toshiba secured over 15% of the world's orders for steam turbines in 2003.