MESSAGE

President's Message

On the Occasion of Nantsune's 100th Anniversary

Thanks to your support, Nantsune was able to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025.

Since my great-grandfather, Tsunejiro Minami, founded Nantsune Cutlery Manufacturing in 1925, we have continued our journey for 100 years.

Starting with cutlery manufacturing, in 1929 we developed and sold Japan's first meat cutting machine. Today, we have grown into a social infrastructure company that supports "the process of creating food."
This is entirely thanks to the support of our user companies and many other stakeholders, and we sincerely thank you.
We deeply appreciate the patronage we have received from the food industry, centered on the meat industry.

Currently, social issues related to food are becoming increasingly complex. Challenges such as safety, food resources, food loss, productivity, and yield are endless.
On the other hand, food has the power to bring joy by "enjoying delicious things with loved ones" and to enrich people's lives.

Together with our user companies, we want to work on solving these challenges and make food even more enriching.
This very desire is our important mission that should be woven into the next 100, 200, and 300 years.

We hereby express our gratitude for the past 100 years since our founding and our new determination for the 101st year and beyond.

President and CEOTsuneyuki Minami

HISTORY

Nantsune's 100-Year History

Commencement

Pioneering
the Era

  • 1925

    Founder Tsunejiro Minami opens Nantsune Cutlery Works,
    a forged blade business, in Katsuyama-dori,
    Tennoji-ku,
    Osaka City

    Founder Tsunejiro Minami gained fame as a culinary knife blacksmith at a young age, gaining popularity with his "Nantsune" branded blades. He built trust through sincere dealings and founded Nantsune Cutlery Works at age 25.

  • 1929

    Manufacturing Japan's first meat cutting machine

    Tsunejiro took on the challenge of making replacement blades for imported slicers, which no one else would accept at the time, despite it being an unknown technology. Utilizing that experience, the product he completed after trial and error became Japan's first domestically-produced meat cutting machine. Convinced that "in the future, demand for meat will spread to Japanese dining tables," he changed the business name to "Nantsune Works" and devoted himself to manufacturing meat cutting machines.

  • 1949

    Relocated factory to Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka City

    Following post-war recovery, as meat spread to Japanese dining tables, orders for meat slicers increased and production capacity became inadequate. The factory was relocated to meet growing demand, marking a major turning point for Nantsune.

  • 1965

    Corporation established as Nantsune Seisakusho Co., Ltd.

    As Westernization of food culture spread and processed meat consumption increased, the meat industry flourished, and Nantsune's business expanded significantly. Driven by the 2nd generation president Jiro Minami, in preparation for further growth, incorporation was established.

Evolution

Pioneering
Technology

  • 1970

    Start of fully automatic meat slicer sales

    As the food industry grew, Nantsune delivered a fully automatic meat slicer in 1970. This "evolution" established a new genre and demonstrated core technologies that differentiate Nantsune, such as precision slicing, safety, and hygiene.

  • 1979

    Fully automatic meat slicer wins the Minister of International Trade and Industry Award

    The fully automatic meat slicer, which greatly contributed to labor-saving in food factories, received high recognition and was awarded the Minister of International Trade and Industry Award at the "11th Superior Industrial Product Commendation."

  • 1988

    Fully automatic meat slicer with vacuum packaging feature wins the Good Design Award

    In 1988, Nantsune received the Good Design Award for a fully automatic meat slicer with vacuum packaging feature. As the "engine" of food processing lines, it is used by major ham and delicatessen manufacturers.

  • 1991

    Start of meat processing consulting business

    Leveraging knowledge accumulated over many years, we expanded our business from "selling machines" to "making proposals" that solve client challenges, thereby adding consulting services to our existing business.

  • 1994

    Meat Sommelier training begins

    To expand sales channels, we established the Meat Sommelier system, which comprehensively learns about food meat from production to sales. This has expanded possibilities beyond the food industry to retail and foodservice markets.

Expansion

Pioneering
the World

  • 1999

    Established Nantsune Korea Co., Ltd. (now Nantsune Korea) in Korea through joint venture with Youngdong Tech

    Recognizing the importance of production bases, "Nantsune Korea (now Nantsune Korea)" was established in 1999. Responsible for manufacturing and selling various slicers, it continues to play a major role within the Nantsune Group to this day.

  • 2000

    Start of manufacturing and sales of Japan's first domestically-produced portion control slicer "NPC-PT"

    We developed the first domestically-produced portion control slicer "NPC-PT." It became a groundbreaking machine that lowered the barrier to entry and established the impression "Nantsune = portion control slicer" in the market.

Innovation

Pioneering
the Future

  • 2005

    Company name changed to Nantsune Co., Ltd.

    In 2011, the corporate logo was renewed. Originating from slicers, three white circles representing circular blades symbolize the development and expandability of three business divisions. It represents the company's stance of contributing to people.

  • 2017

    Building a bridge between butcher shops and consumers.
    Opening of takeout specialty store "Meat Deli Most"

    Opened as a fusion base for meat processing technology and test marketing. Providing authentic charcuterie supervised by craftsmen, it serves at the forefront of butcher shop support and product development.

  • 2019

    M&A of Hellas Spice Japan

    The M&A was completed due to the high affinity between consulting business and spices. It has become a major driving force for Nantsune's further value expansion.

  • 2022

    "Zeus" and "Scorpion"
    Won Excellence Award at the 1st FOOMA Award 2022

    As demand for labor-saving increased, Nantsune developed and sold the automatic portioning robot "Scorpion" and the high-precision portion control slicer "Zeus." With innovation that addresses on-site challenges, we continued to respond to the market without stopping our challenges even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • 2025

    100th Anniversary

    With the Japanese food boom combined with health consciousness, Japanese cuisine is spreading worldwide. Even in overseas markets that were once dominated by thick-cut meat, thinly-sliced meat is now gaining attention. Through high-precision slicing technology, Nantsune continues to take on the challenge of delivering "Japanese food" to the world as a culture.

LOGO&
STATEMENT

100th Anniversary Logo & Statement

As Nantsune Co., Ltd. celebrates its 100th anniversary in October 2025,
we have established a logo and statement for the anniversary project.
With these as the "banner" of our 100th anniversary,
we will spread our trusted brand, backed by history, both internally and externally.

100th Anniversary
Statement

"Eliminating borders on the value that ingredients hold"—
the future that we at Nantsune should realize,
we will pioneer with the challenging mindset inherited from our founding.

MOVIE