CORPORATE History
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Foundation
1926
Dr. Keikichi Ebihara of the Okochi Research Laboratory of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research invented a manufacturing method for piston rings that insured uniform pressure on the inner wall of the cylinders. Acquired patents in various countries.
1927
Established Rikagaku Kogyo to commercialize the inventions of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research. Succeeded in mass production of piston rings for the first time in Japan.
1932
Constructed Kashiwazaki plant in Niigata Prefecture.
1934
The Kashiwazaki plant was separated from Rikagaku Kogyo to establish Riken Piston Ring Co. (Established Riken Industries Co. in 1941 after renaming, corporate split-up, merger with other companies and so on.)
1912
Tomonori Suzuki who learned technology of marine engine on his own opened Suzuki Seisakusyo.
Started design and manufacturing of hot bulb marine engines, rice polishing machines and so on.
Suzuki realized keenly necessity of domestic production of piston rings and had been committed to manufacturing them.
1931
Suzuki completed prototypes of piston rings, and changed the company name into Nippon Piston Ring Seisakusyo.
1934
Nippon Piston Ring Seisakusyo became a public company for mass production of piston rings and further expansion of the business (head office in Tamura-machi, Shiba-ku, Tokyo-city). Opened Kawaguchi plant in Kawaguchi city in Saitama Prefecture.
From early Showa era to postwar recovery
1939
Constructed a plant in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture to manufacture piston rings for automobiles and airplanes.
1948
Started manufacture of TOP brand fittings.
1949
After the post-war reorganization, the Riken Industries Co. was relaunched as Riken Kashiwazaki Piston Ring Industries Co. (renamed as Riken Piston Ring Industries Co. in 1950) and Riken Kumagaya Cast Iron Co. (renamed as Kumagaya Cast Iron Co. in 1951). This marked the founding of Riken Corporation.
1952
Listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange.
1953
Moved the head office of Riken Piston Ring Industries Co. to Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Merged with Kumagaya Cast Iron Co. which became Kumagaya Plant.
1960
Moved the head office to Minamisakumacho, Minato-ku, Tokyo.
1939
Opened Yono plant in Yono-machi, Saitama Prefecture.
Moved the head office to Shinsakurada-cho, Shiba-ku, Tokyo-city.
Started mass production of piston rings for airplanes, ships, tanks and automobiles to meet wartime military demand
1941
Started mass production of chrome plated piston rings for airplanes which greatly improved their wear resistance.
1945
The building of the head office was destroyed by air raid. Temporarily closed the plant at the end of the war.
1947
Received the order of piston rings for US Ford and Chevrolet.
1949
Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchanges.
1960
Moved the head office to Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
1967
Developed oil seals and side seals for rotary engines in cooperation with Toyo Kogyo (currently Mazda Motor)
Business expansion with the development of motorization / overseas expansion
1968
Established Taiwan Riken Ind. Co., a joint venture with Yuen Foong Group to manufacture and sell piston rings, cylinder liners, and cylinder blocks in Taiwan.
1973
Established Siam Riken Ind. Co., Ltd. a joint venture with Siam Motor Co., to manufacture and sell piston rings in Thailand.
1974
Established Riken of America, Inc. to sell piston rings etc. in the US.
1975
Established P.T. Sri Riken Vigna Indonesia (The corporate name has been changed to P.T. Pakarti Riken Indonesia.),a joint venture with Meiwa Corporation and local business conglomerates, to manufacture and sell cast iron products.
1976
Moved the head office to Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
1979
Changed the corporate name to Riken Corporation.
1983
Established Tsurugi plant which specializes in steel piston ring production.
Established Euro-Riken GMBH in Germany to sell piston rings etc. in Europe.
1986
Established Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd., a joint venture with Shriram Automotive Products Ltd., to manufacture and sell piston rings in India.
1989
Taiwan Riken Ind. Co., Ltd. established Xiamen Riken Ind. Co., Ltd. as the first affiliate of Riken Group in China.
1991
Constructed a R&D center in Kumagaya.
2003
Siam Riken Ind. Co., Ltd. opened new piston ring plant and started mass production.
2004
Established Riken Automobile Parts(Wuhan)Co., Ltd. as the second manufacturing plant of piston rings in China.
2007
Due to the Niigataken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake which occurred in July 16th, plants in Kashiwazaki district were discontinued but resumed their production activities by July 23rd.
2009
Established a new sales company PT. RIKEN OF ASIA in Jakarta, Indonesia for sales of piston ring and other products in Asian markets.
2010
Started mass production of wood pellets for wood pellet boilers as a new business
2011
Established a joint venture CK Riken JV Co., Ltd. in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture.
2012
Established a new manufacturing company RIKEN MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V. in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to manufacture products for automobile and industrial machines in North, Central and South America.
1973
Established a sales subsidiary, Schöttle Motorenteile GmbH in West Germany. (Merged with NPR of Europe GmbH. in 2004.)
Established a sales subsidiary, NPR of America, Inc. in the US.
Started market development in Europe and US.
1980
Moved the head office to Kudankita, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
1982
Started operation of NPR FUKUSHIMA WORKS CO., LTD. in Kawamata-machi, Date-gun, Fukushima prefecture which is a main plant of manufacturing valve seat inserts and cylinder liners.
1984
Opened Tochigi plant in Nogi-machi, Shimotsuga-gun, Tochigi prefecture. Relocated Kawaguchi plant to Tochigi plant.
1990
Established NPR IWATE CO., Ltd. in Senmaya-cho (currently Ichinoseki city), Iwate prefecture. Transferred casting and heat treatment processes of Yono plant to NPR IWATE.
1997
Established Siam NPR Co., Ltd. in Thailand in a joint venture with a local corporation. (Became a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2001.)
1998
Moved the head office to Yono city (currently Saitama city), Saitame prefecture.
1999
Established a sales subsidiary, NPR of Europe GmbH. in Germany.
2000
Established PT. Nippon Piston Ring Indonesia (currently PT. NT PISTON RING INDONESIA) in Indonesia in a joint venture with Teikoku Piston Ring Co., Ltd. (currently TPR Co., Ltd.)
Started manufacturing piston rings in Indonesia. (Became a wholly-owned subsidiary in 2013.)
2002
Opened NPR IWATE CO., Ltd. Ichinoseki Plant. Relocated Yono plant to Ichinoseki plant.
2004
Established NPR Manufacturing Michigan, Inc. in Michigan in the US for manufacturing valve seat inserts.
2005
Established NPR Auto Parts Manufacturing (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. in Jiangsu Province, China for manufacturing piston rings.
Established NPR SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. in Singapore to strengthen sales in ASEAN.
2006
Established PT. NPR MANUFACTURING INDONESIA in Indonesia for manufacturing piston rings.
Established NPR Auto Parts Manufacturing (Zhenjiang) Co., Ltd. in Jiangsu Province, China for manufacturing valve seat inserts. (Became a joint-venture company with NPR Auto Parts Manufacturing (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. in 2012.)
Established NPR Manufacturing Kentucky, LLC. in Kentucky U.S.A. for manufacturing piston rings.
2011
Integrated manufacturing subsidiaries in the US, and reorganized as NPR of America, Inc.
Established NPR AUTO PARTS MANUFACTURING INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED for manufacturing valve seat inserts in India.
2013
Established NPR ASIMCO Powdered Metals Manufacturing (Yizheng) Co., Ltd. for manufacturing valve seat inserts in China.
Present
2014
Moved the head office to Sanban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.
2015
Established a new manufacturing & sales company RIKEN SEAL PRODUCTS (WUHAN) CO., LTD. in China to strengthen the manufacturing & sales activity of seal rings in China market.
Established a new sales company RIKEN SALES AND TRADING (THAILAND) CO., LTD. in Thailand to strengthen the sales activity of piston rings in Asian market.
2017
Established a joint venture RIKEN Brother Precision Industry Corporation in Chiryu, Aichi, Japan.
2019
Established a joint venture Riken Power System(Nanjing) Co., Ltd. with Nanjing Feiyan Piston Ring Co., Ltd., an Chinese Corporation, to manufacture and sell piston rings in China market.
2022
Opened a testing facility for hydrogen engine.
2023
Acquired shares of NIPPON PIPE FITTING CORPORATION to form a subsidiary.
Announced the conclusion of final agreement concerning consolidation of Riken Corporation and NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD. through the establishment of a Joint Holding Company by means of share transfer.
2014
Acquired the business of metal injection molding from Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.
Acquired the business of dental implant from ISHIFUKU Metal Industry Co., Ltd., and established Dental Implant Medical Device Center in Tochigi Plant in 2015.
2022
Acquired all shares of Normeca Asia Co., Ltd., making it a subsidiary.
2023
Announced the conclusion of final agreement concerning consolidation of NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD. and Riken Corporation through the establishment of a Joint Holding Company by means of share transfer.
on October 2, 2023, established NPR-RIKEN CORPORATION
