SHIMA, the World's Leading Knitting Machine Manufacturer Japan's World-Class Knitting Machines

SHIMA, the World's Leading Knitting Machine Manufacturer
Japan's World-Class Knitting Machines

UTO Iwate's factory uses computer-controlled knitting machines, which are capable of knitting almost all of the knit patterns available in the world today.
It is said that there is nothing that cannot be knitted by human hands, but this machine can knit difficult patterns such as intricate and detailed watermarks, transition patterns, and knitted fabrics so easily that it is almost as if we are seeing magic.
This amazing knitting machine is made by a Japanese machine manufacturer called SHIMA SEIKI SEISAKUSHO. The company is headquartered in Wakayama.

Although SHIMA SEIKI is not well known to the general public, SHIMA is actually a global standard in the knitwear manufacturing industry.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that most of the knitwear of European super brands is knitted on SHIMA machines. SHIMA's reputation and success in the world are both well-known and well-known.
The fact that there are almost no more technicians left in developed countries who knit manually, and the fact that UTO, a knit apparel company, was able to enter the knitting industry and enter the manufacturing industry, is due to the SHIMA knitting machines.
I think it was before 2000 when I asked knitters (factories) all over Japan to produce my products in "the color you want, in your size, in a short period of time," which is the current UTO business model.
When I saw a computer-controlled knitting machine at an industry exhibition, I was quite shocked and thought, "If I have this machine, I can realize the business model I am thinking of now! I was quite shocked. When I asked about the price, I was told that each machine cost over 15 million yen. And the system to run the knitting machine cost 5 million yen.
I thought, "15 million yen is a lot of money, but 15 million yen for a machine with this kind of performance is cheap! I thought, "I really want one of these machines! I thought to myself, "I really want this machine! I will definitely buy this machine! I decided to buy this machine, even though I had no experience in factory management and no money.
I met Mr. Zoga of Shima Seiki and then Mr. Sano, the former manager of the Yamanashi factory, and UTO decided to buy the knitting machine and finally started the factory. It started out as a dream, and I was in a poor state where I could not even keep the company afloat. I was talking about having a factory in the future and having a hundred knitting machines lined up in that factory. It may have been unrealistic, but I could clearly see SHIMA's latest knitting machines in operation in a factory with a beautiful lawn garden and flowers in full bloom.

The factory has moved from Yamanashi to Iwate, and we are still working on it.