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In order for Sony's English-language word processors to sell well, the 3.5 inch MFD needed to be used by other manufacturers.  We shouldn't keep this media for ourselves. Let's try to get other computer manufacturers to use the 3.5 inch disk media and drive, was the general consensus at Sony. In other words, Sony wanted to provide the 3.5 inch disk drive on an OEM basis to other manufacturers.
However, Sony management had announced guidelines to limit the manufacture and sales of OEM products at the time. Kato reasoned with Ibuka and other members of management until he finally won approval for his plans.
In spring 1982, the year following the US introduction of the Series 35, Sony began selling the 3.5 inch disk drive as a component to other manufacturers. Within Sony, however, engineers were not willing to develop items that would not be sold under the Sony name.
 We have to get each and every person to understand, Kato said. In April 1983, the engineers who were working on computer R&D in the System Development Division formed the Mechatronics Business Group, and Kato was appointed its general manager. His primary objective was to create an environment within the group that would generate a strong passion for the promotion of OEM business.
In 1982, an inquiry came from Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP). We'd like to use the 3.5 inch MFD drive and media for our new computer. Engineers at HP loved to teach. These teachers and Sony's engineers, the students, soon developed a very strong relationship. Building on this relationship, the 3.5 inch MFD drive was perfected and refined to a level usable by computer manufacturers, including HP.
Other competitors began announcing products based on a similar concept, and a struggle started to standardize the technology. HP stood by Sony and lobbied for the 3.5 inch MFD to be recognized as the international standard. Since Sony was a newcomer to the floppydisk market, this support from HP was more than Sony could possibly have hoped.
One year after Sony's announcement, Matsushita, Hitachi and Maxell announced a 3.0 inch floppydisk. Kato and his team more than welcomed the appearance of this new disk because it was also housed in a plastic shell, albeit a 3.0 inch shell. However, the disk had only half the memory capacity. We no longer have to explain why the shell has to be plastic. Now that we have competition from a similar product, it's easier to explain how our product is better, they said confidently.
Following the announcement of the 3.0 inch disk, disks of sizes within 3.0 inches plus or minus an inch were announced one after the other. Competition grew fierce, but in the end, the main contenders were Sony's 3.5 inch disk and the 3.0 inch disk. Eventually, the better specifications and powerful ally Sony had found in HP led the 3.5 inch MFD to victory.
In 1984, Sony succeeded in persuading ANSI (American National Institute for Standardization) to endorse the 3.5 inch MFD. Then, the Sony format was recognized by JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) in Japan and ECMA (European Computer Manufacturers Association) in Europe.
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The 3.5 inch MFD manufacturing line in 1984 (Sony Component Chiba) |
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Finally, the 3.5 inch was recognized by the ISO (International Standards Organization), which influences the recognition of standards in all nations, and it became a fully recognized international standard. All of this happened in 1984, the year the Soviet Union and other Communist countries boycotted the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
With the move toward standardization of the 3.5 inch MFD, Apple Computer also endorsed the standard. Apple's request for a thin and reasonably priced disk drive for use in their PCs led to the establishment of an automated production line at Sony Audio System plant (now known as Sony Component Chiba). This line integrated Sony's FA (factory automation) technology and effectively generated further improvements in Sony's MFD production technology. Eventually, IBM endorsed the 3.5 inch MFD for their PS series computers. This successful OEM business arrangement with the world's leading computer manufacturers attested to the reliability of the Sony product.
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