Matsushita Electric Works

Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd. (パナソニック電工株式会社, named "Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. (松下電工株式会社, MEW)" until September 30, 2008) can trace its beginnings to a company that was founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita. Matsushita began making the flashlight components for bicycles, then progressed to making lighting fixtures. During World War II, the company manufactured everything from airplane propellers to light sockets. At the conclusion of World War II the U.S.A. forced the company to split into two separate companies, Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd. (MEW), and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI) (which became Panasonic). MEW conducts business in automation controls, electronic materials, lighting products, information...