Ichikawa Corporation

Showcases the history of our company from the establishment of Tokyo Blanket Co., Ltd. in 1918 to the present.{

Establishment of Tokyo Blanket Co., Ltd.{

Tokyo Bedding Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Ichikawa Kōri, was established on the site of our former Ichikawa factory.

November 1918 (Taisho 7): Tokyo Bou Corporation, predecessor of Ichikawa Koyo, was established on the site of the former Ichikawa factory.

Merged with Japan Felt Co., Ltd. to become Japan Felt Co., Ltd. Ichikawa Factory.

October 1942 (Showa 17): Merged with Japan Fuerte Corporation to become Japan Fuerte Ichikawa Factory.

Establishment

Separated from Japan Felt Co., Ltd. under the Corporate Reorganization Act and established Ichikawa Kōri Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture).

November 1949 (Showa 24): Separated from Japan Fuerte Corporation under the Corporate Reconstruction Act and established Ichikawa Koyo Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture).

Developed nylon-blended felt.

May 1950 (Showa 25): Developed nylon-blended Fuerte.

Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

May 1951 (Showa 26): Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Started manufacturing and selling the carpet "Ichiron."

December 1953 (Showa 28): Began manufacturing and selling the Ikirun carpet.

Established subsidiary Toyobu Industrial Co., Ltd.

August 1960 (Showa 35): Established subsidiary Yobuko Industries Co., Ltd.

Established subsidiary Ichirō Service Co., Ltd.

December 1961 (Showa 36): Established subsidiary Ichirons Service Co., Ltd.

Moved headquarters from Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture to Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (current location).

November 1963 (Showa 38): Moved headquarters from Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture to Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (current location).

Established the Kashiwa Factory (Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture) and began manufacturing needle felt.

July 1964 (Showa 39): Established the Kashiwara plant in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, and began manufacturing needle Fuerte.

Started manufacturing and selling felt detergents.

May 1965 (Showa 40): Began manufacturing and selling detergent for Fuerte.

Established subsidiary Limited Company Ichimō Processing.

April 1968 (Showa 43): Established subsidiary Limited Company Ichigo Processing.

Acquired the felt division of Kōbune Spinning Co., Ltd., Nerima Factory.

Absorbed and merged Toyobu Industrial Co., Ltd., creating the Toyobu Factory (Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture).

Based on our sales division, we merged with the Fuerte sales agency and established the subsidiary Ichikawa Kogori Trading Co., Ltd.

Established the subsidiary Limited Company Kashiwagi Processing.

Established the subsidiary Limited Company Tomobe Processing.

Established the subsidiary Ichigo Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Established the subsidiary K.K. AK Distribution Center.

Established the U.S. local corporation Ichikawa America Incorporated with full investment from Ichikawa Kogori Trading Co., Ltd.

Since launching the product in 1986, Ichikawa has continued to develop Seam Fuerte capable of handling all types of paper in paper shredders.

Closed the interior business division.

Merged K.K. AK Distribution Center and K.K. Ichirō Service to establish K.K. AK Service (now a consolidated subsidiary).

Exported the first model of the shoe press belt to the United States.

Renamed Ichikawa America Incorporated to Ichikawa North America Corporation (now a consolidated subsidiary).

Absorbed and merged Ichikawa Kogori Trading Co., Ltd.

Merged Limited Company Ichigo Processing, Limited Company Kashiwagi Processing, and Limited Company Tomobe Processing to establish Limited Company AK Processing (now a consolidated subsidiary).

Established the Iwama factory in Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Renamed Ichigo Real Estate Co., Ltd. to K.K. AK Agency.

Established the Düsseldorf office in Germany.

Received the Sasaki Award for contributing to the development of the paper industry through the development of the shoe press belt.

Closed the Ichikawa factory and consolidated production functions to the Kashiwagi and Iwama factories.

Obtained ISO14001 certification at the Kashiwagi factory.

Established the Shanghai office in China.

Established a local subsidiary in Düsseldorf and founded Ichikawa Europe GmbH (now a consolidated subsidiary).

Exported the first transfer belt to Germany.

Obtained ISO 9001 certification.

Implemented new corporate governance, reducing the number of directors, shortening terms, and introducing an executive officer system.

Consolidated the research and development departments and established the Development Research Institute in Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Moved the sales department from headquarters to the Kashiwa plant site.

Established the industrial felt product sales company, Ichikawa Tech Fabrics Co., Ltd. (now a consolidated subsidiary).

Established the local subsidiary in China, Yiji Jiazao Paper Dehydration Equipment Trade (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (now a consolidated subsidiary).

Changed the company name to the new name "Ichikawa Co., Ltd."

Kept the subsidiary Iké Services Co., Ltd. as the surviving company and absorbed the subsidiary Iké Agency Co., Ltd. through merger.

Started selling the super press belt product "Ichiriki."

Started selling the paper shaving felt product "Zimo Series."

Established a satellite office in Thailand.

Gradually dissolved the satellite office in Thailand and established Ichikawa Asia Company Limited (now a consolidated subsidiary).

Obtained ISO 14001 certification at the Iwama plant.

Moved from the First Section to the Standard Market following a review of the Tokyo Stock Exchange market classification.{

Moved the development research institute to the Iwama plant.{

Obtained ISO 14001 certification at headquarters.{