Sanwa Manufacturing Co Ltd was first established in Japan in 1941. Primarily a heavy engineering company Sanwa started an association with Mitsubushi Printing Division to produce feeder and delivery units for their sheet fed printing machines.

From this association Sanwa Manufacturing began to develop and produce automatic die cutting machines, expanding the company to its present state. Sanwa produce around 60 new machines each year and are the major supplier to the Japanese market. From the late 1980s Sanwa began exporting machines into the UK and Europe and quickly moved to consolidate its position as one of the leading suppliers of automatic die cutting machines. Now with a world wide sales network Sanwa are also represented in Asia, North America and South America.