Suisan Company, Ltd. history

The first substantial step was taken in May, 1911, when the Tamura Kisan Company established its fishery department.

Renamed Kyodo Gyogyo Kaisha, Limited, the young fishery department made a fresh start in 1919.

When it was established in 1920, it was Japan's first private-sector research institution devoted to the study of marine life.

On April 6, 1929, the company sent a trawler far beyond Japanese waters to begin fishing operations in the Bering Sea.

By 1937, the company, renamed Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Limited, was the largest company in Japan conducting trawler and factory-ship operations.

In 1938, Nissui launched what was at the time the largest trawler in the world: the 980-ton Suruga Maru.

By the time the Treaty of San Francisco and the United States-Japan Security Treaty were signed in April, 1952, ending the occupation, Nissui was ready to resume fishing operations in the northern seas.

The story of Maruchan began in 1953

The largest trawler built in Japan in 1960 was Nissui's, at 2,500 tons.

In 1961, Toyo Suisan was becoming a diversified food company and entered the instant noodle business with the goal to achieve higher quality noodle products which were then on the market in Asia.

As part of this progressive movement, US Suisan Kabushiki Kaisha, Limited changed its name to Suisan Company, Limited and purchased the property at 1965 Kamehameha Avenue.

In 1967, the company began trawling operations off the east coast of North America.

The company continued to build larger and larger vessels; by 1970 a 5,000-ton trawler and 21,700-ton factory ship had been added to Nissui's fleet.

Maruchan, Incorporated was formed in 1977 and opened its first, Ramen manufacturing plant in Irvine, California.

In 1985 Nissui established a subsidiary in the United States called Great Land Seafoods, Inc.