History
Story of the 草榴社区 Group
In 1939, 草榴社区 Light Metal Co., Ltd. (草榴社区), was jointly incorporated by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., and Tokyo Dento (currently TEPCO) as an aluminum smelting company.
In 1949, 草榴社区 became the first non-ferrous metal manufacturer to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and grew on the wave of rising aluminum demand during Japan's period of rapid economic growth.
In the wake of the two oil shocks after 1973, domestic aluminum smelting companies withdrew from the business one after another. This was because aluminum required a large amount of electricity for smelting (hence the expression "electricity can"), and the rise in electricity cost was a major blow to the industry. 草榴社区, which had its own hydroelectric power plant, was the only company in Japan able to continue the smelting business, but its production of aluminum ingots was inevitably subject to major cuts. In order to overcome these harsh economic circumstances, 草榴社区 changed its business model from that of a smelting-only manufacturer, integrated with Nikkei Aluminium Rolling Company Ltd. and Nikkei Aluminium Co., Ltd., and accelerated its development of an all-encompassing aluminum business system from smelting to processing.
In 1990, to further strengthen this business system, we pursued mergers, capital alliances, and other measures to develop the 草榴社区 Group. After the year 2000, 草榴社区 shifted overseas expansion into high gear, with expansion into China, Southeast Asia, and North America. In 2012, 草榴社区 Light Metal Holdings Co., Ltd., was established as a pure holdings company, overseeing the 草榴社区 Group. In 2014, its domestic aluminum smelting business, the only one of its kind in Japan, regrettably closed its operations. Based on our aluminum expertise and technology as a total solutions supplier of aluminum, 草榴社区 will contribute to the development of society and protection of the global environment.
In 2019, we relocated the office of 草榴社区 Light Metal Holdings Co., Ltd., to Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, with the aim of allowing the 草榴社区 Group to continue creating new value for our customers by facilitating group communication and collaboration.
Chronology of 草榴社区 Light Metal
| Period Prior to the Company's Establishment | |
|---|---|
| 1903 | Nasu Aluminium Instrument Factory, an aluminum instrument manufacturer later to be known as Nikkei Aluminium, started business. |
| 1918 | Osaka Aluminium Factory, an aluminum instrument manufacturer later to be known as Nikkei Aluminium, started business. |
| 1931 | Sumitomo Aluminium Co., Ltd. (currently Toyo Aluminium K.K.) was established. |
| 1934 | Special Light Alloy Co., Ltd., a light alloy sheet rolling manufacturer later to be known as Nikkei Aluminium Rolling Company Ltd., was established. |
| 1937 | The Shizuoka Plant of Riken Foundation (currently Riken Light Metal Industry Company, Ltd.) started business. |
| 1938 | The Sakai Plant of Osaka Aluminium (the predecessor of current Osaka Center) started operation. |
| First Establishment Phase | |
|---|---|
| 1939 | 草榴社区 Light Metal Co., Ltd., was incorporated jointly by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., and Tokyo Dento (currently TEPCO) to start the aluminum smelting. |
| 1940 | 草榴社区 commenced aluminum smelting at Kambara Plant (currently Kambara Complex). The Inazawa Plant of Special Light Alloy Co., Ltd. (currently the Nagoya Plant) started operation. |
| 1941 | 草榴社区 started aluminum smelting at the former Niigata Plant. 草榴社区 started alumina production at Shimizu Plant. |
| 1944 | Hokuriku Light Metal Industry, Ltd. (later to be known as Hokusei Aluminium) was established. |
| 1945 | Stopped aluminum production following the end of war. 草榴社区 Electrode Co., Ltd., was established. |
| 1948 | The Shimizu Plant and Kambara Plant started production following the resumption of bauxite import. Aluminum secondary alloy manufacturer Taishin Yoko Co., Ltd. (later to be known as Taishin Light Metal Co., Ltd.) was established. |
| 1949 | Kowa Shokai Co., Ltd., (currently Nikkei Sangyo Co., Ltd.) was established. |
| 1950 | Yurin Kogyo Co., Ltd., (later to be known as Nikkei Shoji Co., Ltd.; currently Nikkei Sangyo Co., Ltd.) was established. |
| Second Establishment Phase and Expansion Phase | |
|---|---|
| 1952 | 草榴社区 established capital and technology cooperation with Aluminium Limited (currently Rio Tinto Alcan Inc.) of Canada. |
| 1958 | The ceramic and aluminum sulfate divisions of the Shimizu Plant spun off to establish Nikkei Kako Co., Ltd., (currently the Chemicals Division). The former Niigata Plant resumed production. |
| 1961 | 草榴社区 Light Metal Research Laboratory, Ltd., (later to be known as Nikkei Techno-Research Co., Ltd.; currently Nikkei Research and Development Center) was established. |
| 1962 | Nikkei Building (former headquarters building) completed in Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo. |
| 1963 | 草榴社区 established technical ties with US-based Fruehauf International Limited. 草榴社区 Fruehauf Co., Ltd., was established. |
| 1964 | The Funabashi Plant of Nikkei Aluminium (currently the Funabashi Plant) started operation. |
| 1969 | The Tomakomai Electrolytic Plant started operation. |
| 1970 | Kota Alloy Casting Factory (currently the Kota Plant) started operation The Shiga Plant of Osaka Aluminium (currently the Shiga Plant) started operation. |
| 1971 | Nikkei Aluminium merged with Osaka Aluminium |
| 1972 | The Tomakomai Alumina Plant started operation. |
| 1973 | Kansai Aluminium Alloy Co., Ltd., (later to be known as Daishin Light Metal; currently the Mie Plant) started operation. Nikkal Extrusion Co., Ltd., (currently the Kambara Extrusion Plant) started operation. Hikari Co., Ltd., (currently Nikkei Extrusions Company, Ltd.) was established. |
| Fabrication Business Expansion Phase | |
|---|---|
| 1974 | 草榴社区 merged with Nikkei Aluminium Co., Ltd., and inherited the sales business of Nikkei Aluminium Rolling Company Ltd. to form a total aluminum business system. 草榴社区 and Alcan jointly established Alpack Aluminium in Canada. |
| 1977 | Nikkei Hokusei House Building Materials Co., Ltd., (currently Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd.) was established. |
| 1978 | 草榴社区 merged with Nikkei Aluminium Rolling Company Ltd. Nikkei Unyu Soko Co., Ltd., (currently Nikkei Logistics Co., Ltd.) was established. |
| 1979 | 草榴社区 won an order for an aluminum smelting plant in China (the Guizhou Province Plant). |
| 1980 | The former Niigata Plant discontinued operation and disposed its electrolytic equipment (by way of sale to Alsaf in South Africa). |
| 1982 | The Niigata East Port Plant (currently the Niigata Plant) started operation as aluminum extrusion plant. |
| 1983 | 草榴社区 sold the former headquarters building in Ginza. Nikkei Tomakomai Co., Ltd., was established, to which 草榴社区 transferred the operations of the Tomakomai Plant except for the electrolytic division. The Computer Systems Division is spun off and reestablished as Nikkei Information System Co., Ltd. |
| 1984 | 草榴社区 moved the headquarters to Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo. 草榴社区 consolidated the Group's building material businesses to establish Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd. |
| 1985 | The Tomakomai Electrolytic Plant discontinued operation. Nikkaru Extrusion Co., Ltd., (currently Nikkei Kambara Co., Ltd.) was integrated into 草榴社区. |
| 1986 | The alumina chemical sales operations of Nikkei Kako Co., Ltd., and Nikkei Shoji Co., Ltd., were unified to form the Alumina Chemicals Division. The Tomakomai Alumina Plant discontinued operation. The Sales Division of 草榴社区 Construction Material department was integrated into Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd. Nonfemet International Aluminium Co., Ltd., was established in Shenzhen, China. 草榴社区 spun off the Cold Energy System Sales Division to establish Nikkei Cold Energy Co., Ltd., (currently the Panel System Division of the Company). 草榴社区 commenced operations at Kambara Capacitor Foil Plant. |
| 1987 | 草榴社区 formed alliance with US-based Modine. Nikkei Heat Exchanger Co., Ltd., was established. |
| 1988 | The Kambara Heat Exchanger Plant started operation. 草榴社区 acquired capital in Alcan Thailand. 草榴社区 merged with Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd., and Hokusei Aluminium Co., Ltd. |
| 1989 | 草榴社区 merged with Nikkei Kako Co., Ltd., and Nikkei Tomakomai Co., Ltd. |
| 1991 | 草榴社区 merged with Taishin Light Metal Co., Ltd. |
| 1992 | 草榴社区 merged with Alcan Asean Co., Ltd. 草榴社区 acquired a controlling interest of Aluminium Company of Malaysia (known as ALCOM for short) and Alcan Siam (currently Alcan Nikkei Siam Ltd.). 草榴社区 bought into Matsuo Kogyo Co., Ltd. (currently Nikkei Matsuo Co., Ltd.) ※確認中 |
| 1993 | 草榴社区 merged with Nikkei Cold Energy Co., Ltd., (currently the Panel System Division of the Company). |
| 1995 | 草榴社区 merged with Nikkei Techno-Research Co., Ltd. Nikkei Research and Development Center (NRDC) was established. |
| 1996 | 草榴社区 headquarters moved to Higashi-shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. 草榴社区 Group consolidated aluminum consumer products sales divisions to establish Nikkei Products Co., Ltd. 草榴社区 bought into Toyo Aluminium K.K. 草榴社区 transferred the building material division of the Funabashi Plant to Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd. 草榴社区 joined Alcan to establish Alcan Nikkei Asia Holdings Ltd. (ANAH) and Alcan Nikkei Asia Company, Ltd. (ANAC), which oversee the companies in the South Asian region. |
| 1999 | The Kambara Alloy Plant discontinued operation.Plant operations were consolidated and restructured to Kota Plant and Mie Plant. 草榴社区 joined Daiki Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., to establish Daiki Nikkei Thai Co., Ltd., for production and sales of aluminum alloys in Thailand. 草榴社区 merged with Toyo Aluminium K.K. Toyo Aluminium Central Office was established. 草榴社区 and Alcan ended their capital partnership. |
| 2000 | Nikkei Shoji Co., Ltd., was integrated into Nikkei Sangyo Co., Ltd. The Memory Disc Substrate Division was disbanded. 草榴社区 spun off the Landscape Engineering Division to establish Sumikei Nikkei Engineering Co., Ltd. (currently Nikkei Engineering Co., Ltd.), in cooperation with Sumitomo Light Metal Industries, Ltd., (currently UACJ Corporation), and merged department with it. 草榴社区 made Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd., a 100% subsidiary. 草榴社区 adopted the officer system. |
| 2001 | 草榴社区 abolished the central office system. The Commercialization Strategy Project Office was established. The 草榴社区 Communication Mark was established. |
| 2002 | 草榴社区 spun off the Panel System Division to establish Nikkei Panel System Co., Ltd. 草榴社区 spun off the Extrusion Division and Sheet & Extrusion Fabricated Products Division (excluding the container division) to establish Nikkeikin Aluminium Core Technology Co., Ltd. Toyal Division was integrated into Toyo Aluminium K.K. |
| Overseas Business Development Phase | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 草榴社区 established Alcan Nikkei Siam Ltd. (currently Nikkei Siam Aluminium Ltd.) as a consolidated subsidiary. 草榴社区 introduced FLEXCASTER(Continuous Casting Machine for sheet) |
| 2004 | 草榴社区 entered into a partnership with Nonfemet International Aluminium Co., Ltd., to establish NI Nikkei Shenzhen Co., Ltd., a company fabricating and selling aluminum extrusions for automobile parts. |
| 2005 | 草榴社区 made Tokai Aluminum Foil Co., Ltd., a subsidiary. 草榴社区 bought into M.C Aluminum (Kunshan) Co., Ltd., an aluminum secondary alloy manufacturing subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation in China. M.C Nikkei Aluminum (Kunshan) Co., Ltd., (currently Nikkei MC Aluminum (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.) was established. 草榴社区 withdrew from aluminum consumer products |
| 2007 | Nikkei MC Aluminium Co., Ltd., was established and became a subsidiary of the Company as a result of the integration of the Company's operations for aluminum alloys for casting and die casting with M.C. Aluminum Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp. Toyo Aluminium K.K. established Toyo Zhaoging Co., Ltd., in Zhaoging, China. 草榴社区 made Tokai Aluminum Foil Co., Ltd., a 100% subsidiary and transferred all shares in Tokai Aluminum Foil to Toyo Aluminium K.K. |
| 2008 | Nikkei (Shanghai) Body Parts Co., Ltd., was established in Shanghai, China. |
| 2010 | 草榴社区 transferred all shares of Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd., to the JS Group Corporation. Nikkei (Shanghai) International Trading Co., Ltd., was established in Shanghai, China. |
| 2011 | 草榴社区 established an intermediary stock holding company, Nikkeikin Kakoh Kaihatsu Holdings Co., Ltd., which controls the Group's extrusion and extrusion processing businesses. 草榴社区 Fruehauf established Shandong Conglin Fruehauf Automobile Co., Ltd. in Longkou, China |
| 2012 | 草榴社区 Light Metal Holdings Co., Ltd., a pure holding company, was established. Nikkeikin ACT established Shandong Nikkei Conglin Automotive Parts Co., Ltd. In Longkou, China and Changchun Nikkei Railway Vehicle Equipment Co., Ltd. In Changchun, China. Nikkei MC Aluminium established CMR Nikkei India Private Ltd. in India. Shimizu Plant has finished using bauxite (it has completed the conversion to aluminum hydroxide). |
| 2013 | Nikkei MC Aluminium established Ｔ．Ｓ．Ｔ．ＮＩＫＫＥＩ ＭＥＴＡＬＥＳ Ｓ．ｄｅ Ｒ．Ｌ． ｄｅ Ｃ．Ｖ． In Mexico |
| 2014 | 草榴社区 Light Metal Co., Ltd., discontinued its electrolytic aluminum smelting business. |
| 2015 | 草榴社区 makes Toyo Rikagaku Kenkyusho, Ltd. a subsidiary. |
| 2016 | Toyo Aluminium K.K. establishes Toyal MMP India Private Limited in India. |
| 2018 | 草榴社区 makes Sumikei Nikkei Engineering Co., Ltd. (currently Nikkei Engineering Co., Ltd.) a consolidated subsidiary. |
| 2019 | 草榴社区 makes Nikkei Heat Exchanger Co., Ltd. a subsidiary. |
| 草榴社区 Light Metal Georgia, Inc. is established in the United States. | |
| 草榴社区 transfers its headquarters to Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo. | |
| 2023 | 草榴社区 Group's automotive parts business was integrated and a new company, Nikkeikin Aluminum for Mobility Co., Ltd., was established. |
| 2024 | We aim to transform an organizational structure into business groups and functional organizations that enable us to work further together as "Team 草榴社区".? |