NPR-RIKENRIKEN CORPORATION

Company Information

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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.