History
1920-
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. Patents were obtained from various countries. |
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1927 | In order to commercialize the inventions of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Rikagaku Kogyo was established (predecessor of the Riken Corporation) with a capitalization of ¥3,000,000. The company was the first to begin the mass production of piston rings in Japan. |
1930-
1932 | The Kashiwazaki plant was constructed in Niigata Prefecture. |
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1934 | The Kawashizaki plant was separated from Rikagaku Kogyo and the Riken Piston Ring Co. was established with a capitalization of ¥6,000,000. |
1938 | The Riken Piston Ring Co. manufactured various machinery, measuring instruments, special steel and tools, as well as piston rings. The company merged with Riken Special Steels Co. and the name was changed to Riken Heavy Industries Co. which had a capitalization of ¥30,000,000. |
1939 | A plant was constructed in Kumagaya, Saitama Prefecture to manufacture piston rings for automobiles and airplanes. |
1940-
1941 | Riken Heavy Industries Co. merged with Riken Rolling Industries Co., Riken Forging, Riken Machine Tools Co., Riken Steel Co., Riken Foundry Co. and Rikagaku Kogyo, companies of the RIKEN Konzern, and changed its name to RIKEN Industries Co. The company had 26 plants and was capitalized at ¥70,000,000. |
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1942 | Piston rings were successfully manufactured using an ERU type electric furnace. This was the first melting of cast iron in an electric furnace in Japan. |
1945 | All plants stopped operation at the end of the Second World War. A manufacturing license was obtained from GHQ to make automobile piston rings, cast iron products and agricultural equipment to establish peacetime industrial operation. |
1948 | The manufacture of TOP brand fittings began. |
1949 | The Riken Industries Co. was separated into 11 companies. Two of these were relaunched as Riken Kashiwazaki Piston Ring Industries Co. (capitalized at ¥20,000,000) and Riken Kumagaya Cast Iron Co. (capitalized at ¥10,000,000). |
1950-
1950 | Riken Kashiwazki Piston Ring Industries Co. became Riken Piston Ring Industries Co. |
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1951 | Riken Kumagaya Cast Iron Co. became Kumagaya Cast Iron Co. |
1953 | Riken Piston Ring Industries Co. and Kumagaya Cast Iron Co. merged. |
1956 | Awarded the Okochi Commemorative Production Award by the Okochi Commemorative Association for "Improvement of Mass Production Methods for Piston Rings." The company applied for a manufacturing patent for a high ductility aluminum steel alloy ( alloy). |
1957 | Entered into a technical tie-up with the Shaw Process Co. of the U.K. for the Shaw process, a precision casting method. Started the manufacture and sale of LA couplings. |
1958 | The company began to manufacture and sell electric resistance materials in alloys (heating wire, heat resistant structural materials and electric resistance materials) under the PYROMAX brand product name. |
1960-
1961 | Entered into a technical tie-up with Hastings Corp. of the U.S. for a steel oil ring assembly (under the RIK-VENT product name). |
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1964 | The 3rd International Shaw Process Conference was at the Riken Central Research Center. Patents were obtained in various countries for RIK-HISIAL, a wear resistant aluminum alloy. |
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. |
1970-
1970 | Introduced technology for LUCAS incineration equipment from the U.K. |
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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 United States. |
1975 | Capitalization increased to ¥3.5 billion. Began the manufacture and sale of PYRORIK industrial furnaces. 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. Began the manufacture and sale of sintered alloy valve seat for lead-free gasoline. |
1976 | Began the manufacture and sale of MR JOINT stainless pipe fittings. |
1977 | Commenced operation of an automatic machining line for piston ring production operation |
1978 | Completed the startup of a RIKEN LUCAS fluid bed furnace with a drying stage. Exports reached a record 13.8% of production. |
1979 | The corporate name was changed to Riken Corporation. Celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding. |
1980-
1980 | Awarded the Okochi Commemorative Production Award by the Okochi Commemorative Association for "Development of an automatic machining line for piston ring production operation" |
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1981 | Capitalization was increased to ¥4.2 billion. |
1983 | Completed the construction of the Tsurugi plant, a plant that would focus on steel ring production. Established Euro-Riken GMBH 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. |
1988 | Established Riken of Korea Inc., a joint venture with Korea Riken Industries Co. to manufacture and sell piston rings in Korea. Established Riken of Korea Inc., a joint venture with Korea Riken Industries Co. to manufacture and sell piston rings in Korea. |
1989 | Established Allied Ring Corporation, a US-based joint venture with Sealed Power Corporation, to manufacture and sell piston rings in America. Taiwan Riken Ind. Co., Ltd. established Xiamen Riken Ind. Co., Ltd. as the first affiliate of Riken Group in China. |
1990-
1990 | Capitalization increased to ¥6.1 billion. |
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1991 | Constructed a R&D center in Kumagaya. |
1992 | Began the manufacture and sale of Riflon, seal rings for hydraulic equipment. |
1994 | Received the TPM Award for Excellence (Kumagaya and Kashiwazaki) Entered into a technical tie-up with Intermet Corporation for the production of cast iron products. Entered into a technical tie-up with Grede Foundries Inc., for the production of cast iron products. |
1996 | Capitalization increased to ¥7.9 billion. |
1997 | Obtained ISO 9001 certification (Piston Ring Department) Dana Corporation acquired Sealed Power Division and assumed a position as Riken's joint venture partner in Allied Ring Corporation. Capitalization increased to ¥8.5 billion. Received Award for Excellence in Consistent TPM Commitment. |
1998 | Began the sale of high frequency pyramidal ferrite absorbers. |
1999 | Celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding. Entered into a technical tie-up with Dana-Albarus for the production of piston rings in Brazil for Volkswagen Brazil. |
2000-
2000 | Signed the memorandum of understanding related to a global piston ring alliance with Dana Corporation. Started the manufacture and sale of SUS-FIT stainless pipe fittings. |
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2001 | Obtained ISO 14001 certification (Kashiwazaki and Kumagaya) |
2002 | Established a call center for pipe-fitting business. |
2003 | Obtained ISO9001:2000 Certificates Siam Riken Ind. Co., Ltd. opened new piston ring plant and started mass production. Established Jakarta Representative Office. Obtained Q1 Certification from Ford Motor Co. Acquired shares in Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd. and applied equity method. |
2004 | Obtained ISO/TS 16949:2002 Certificates. Established Riken Automobile Parts(Wuhan)Co., Ltd. as the second manufacturing plant of piston rings in China. |
2006 | Xiamen Riken constructed a new plant of as-cast hollow camshafts for supplying to the global market. |
2007 | Signed the memorandum of understanding with MAHLE GmbH for the global cooperation and R"D collaboration. The Niigataken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake which occurred in July 16th discontinued Plants and quickly resumed their production activities by July 23rd. |
2008 | Excluded "Riken of Korea Inc." from the consolidated financial statements from this fiscal year. |
2009 | Established a new sales company "PT. RIKEN OF ASIA" in Jakarta, Indonesia. Sales of piston ring and other products in Asian markets. |
2010-
2010 | Started mass production of wood pellets for wood pellet boilers as a new business. |
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2011 | Signed the business collaboration agreement and the joint venture agreement with CK SAN-ETSU Co., Ltd. Established a joint venture "CK Riken JV Co., Ltd." in Takaoka, Toyama, Japan. |
2012 | Established a new manufacturing company "RIKEN MEXICO, S.A. DE C.V." in Aguascalientes, Mexico, to meet and capture the increased demand in the domestic and foreign markets. |
2013 | Started a mutual cooperation with Georg Fischer Automotive AG, a Swiss corporation, to manufacture and sell the SiboDur® alloy products with the license from Georg Fischer. |
2014 | Moved our head office to Sanban-cho, Chiyoda-ku. Established a joint venture "AMTEK RIKEN CASTING PRIVATE LIMITED" with AMTEK INDIA LIMITED, an Indian corporation, to manufacture and sell automotive casting components. |
2015 | Entered into a global strategic alliance with KS Kolbenschmidt GmbH for the sales, engineering and development of power cylinder systems. 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 | Entered into a strategic alliance with Brother Precision Ind. Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation, for camshaft and other auto-parts business and established a joint venture "RIKEN Brother Precision Industry Corporation" in Chiryu, Aichi, Japan. |
2018 | Entered into a strategic alliance with Tanaka Seimitsu Kogyo Co.,Ltd., a Japanese corporation. |
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 of piston rings in China market. |
2020-
2020 | Entered into a capital and strategic allaiance with Taiseiplas Co.,Ltd., a Japanese corporation. |
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2022 | Opened a testing facility for hydrogen engine. |
2023 | Acquired shares of NIPPON PIPE FITTING CORPORATION to form a subsidiary. Consolidation of Riken Corporation and NIPPON PISTON RING CO., LTD. through the establishment of a Joint Holding Company by means of share transfer. |