History

1870~

1875 Began the operation of the Kusakura Copper Mine in Niigata (Company foundation).
1877 Began the operation of the Ashio Copper Mine in Tochigi.
1884 The Ashio Copper Mine produced the largest amount of copper in Japan.
1885 Began using rock drills to excavate mine cavity.
1887 Set up the Manufacturing Section at the Ashio Copper Mine and began machinery repair and manufacturing.
1894 Began operation of the Shimo-Yamada Coal Mine in Fukuoka and entered into the coal industry.

1900~

1900 Set up a machinery works at the Ashio Copper Mine and entered into the machinery industry.
1905 Furukawa & Co. was founded. Shifted from private management to a corporate structure.
1906 Completed Hosoo Electric Power Station in Nikko in Tochigi.
1911 Changed the organization to Furukawa General Partnership.
1914 Manufactured the first rock drill in Japan.
1918 Spun off the Mining Division from Furukawa General Partnership and established Furukawa Mining Co., Ltd.

1920~

1920 Established the Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. through investment in kind to Nikko Electric Copper Refinery.

1940~

1941 Furukawa General Partnership was merged with Furukawa Mining Co., Ltd. to form the basis of the current management.
1942 Went semi-public.
Spun off the Machinery Division from Ashio Mining to establish Ashio Manufacturing.
1944 Bought Osaka Smelter of Toa Chemical Smelting Co., Ltd. and established it as Osaka Cementation and Refining. Entered into the chemical industry.
Built the Oyama Works of the Machinery Division of the Ashio Copper Mine in Tochigi.
1950 Built the Takasaki Works of the Rock Drill Division in Gunma.
1951 Began manufacturing of titanium dioxide and cuprous oxide at Osaka Cementation and Refining.
1954 Imported flash smelting technology from Outokumpu in Finland.
1956 Completed the first flash smelting plant in Japan at Ashio Smelting and Refining.

1960~

1960 Began sales of petroleum.
1961 Began manufacturing of concentrated sulphuric acid at Osaka Cementation and Refining.
1962 Completed the Furukawa/Outokumpu flash smelting plant at Ashio Smelting and Refining.
Completed development and began sales of bowling equipment.
Began manufacturing of crawler shovels at the Oyama Works.
Completed research and development of high-purity (99.999%) metallic arsenic and commenced with the sale of it.
1970 Withdrew from the coal industry.
1971 Built the Yoshii Works of the Bowling Division in Gunma.
Began manufacturing of wheel loaders at the Oyama Works.
1972 Built the Iwaki Works of the Electronic Materials Division in Fukushima
Changed the English company name to Furukawa Co., Ltd.
1973 Discontinued the Mining Division of the Ashio Office (closed the Ashio Copper Mine).
Built the Mibu Works of the Construction Machinery Division in Tochigi.

1980~

1986 Built the high-purity metallic arsenic manufacturing facility at the Iwaki Works.
1987 Bought UNIC Corporation (manufacturer for truck-mounted cranes).
Took over the Manufacturing Division of UNIC Corporation and established it as the Sakura Works.
1989 The Japanese name changed from Furukawa Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha to Furukawa Kikai Kinzoku Kabushiki Kaisha.
1990 Bought an American breaker manufacturer.
1997 Established a copper smelting company, Port Kembla Copper Pty. Ltd. (PKC) in Australia.
Established a manufacturer of UNIC products and components, Furukawa UNIC (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in Thailand.
1998 Established a rock drill products distribution company, Furukawa Rock Drill Europe B.V. in Holland.
Newly established the Materials Research Laboratory for metal and electronic chemical-related research.
1999 Moved the Materials Research Laboratory to Tsukuba City in Ibaraki.

2000~

2000 Newly established the Techno-Research Laboratory for machinery segment-related research.
2001 Established Gunma Kankyo Recycle Center Co., Ltd.
2002 Established the Semiconductor Growth System Department as a development organization for manufacturing equipment for electronic materials, etc.
2003 Established a rock drill products distribution company, Furukawa Rock Drill Korea Co., Ltd. in Korea.
Merged Furukawa Real Estate Co., Ltd. and established the Real Estate Division.
Established Taian Furukawa Machinery Co., Ltd. - a joint company for the manufacturing and distribution of UNIC cranes in China.
Discontinued operations at the copper smelting company run by PKC in Australia.
Transferred and spun off the Casting business to Furukawa Castec Co., Ltd.
2004 Sold the Construction Machinery business to Hitachi Construction Machinery Group.
2005 Spun off the Machinery business, the Metals business and the Electronic Materials and Chemicals business and strengthened the management system as the Furukawa Company Group.
2006 Established a rock drill products distribution company, Furukawa Rock Drill (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. in China.
Transferred the General Machinery business to Otsuka Iron Works, Ltd. from Furukawa Industrial Machinery Systems Co., Ltd. and changed the company name to Furukawa Otsuka Co., Ltd.
2007 Formed a capital and business alliance for the GaN Semiconductor Epi Wafer business with POWDEC K.K.
2008 Furukawa Industrial Machinery Systems Co., Ltd. merged with Furukawa Otsuka Co., Ltd.
Newly setup the Nitride Semiconductors Department as a nitride semiconductor-related research organization.
Spun off the Fuels business and passed it on to Furukawa Commerce Co., Ltd.
2009 Tohpe Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of paints and chemicals, became a consolidated subsidiary.
Established Taian Furukawa Unic Crane Co., Ltd. in China.
2010 Obtained interests in a copper mine in Canada.
2011 Established a rock drill products distribution company, Furukawa Rock Drill India Pvt. Ltd., in India.
2012 Established a rock drill products distribution company, Furukawa Rock Drill Latin America S.A., in Panama.
Established a UNIC products distribution company, LLC Furukawa UNIC RUS, in Russia.
Withdrew from the fuels industry.
2013 Transferred all shares of Tohpe Corporation to Zeon Corporation and withdrew from the paints industry.
Built a solar power station on the site of the former Ashio Smelting and Refining.
2014 The Muromachi Furukawa Mitsui Building was completed in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
Established a coil manufacturing company, FD Coil Philippines, Inc., in the Philippines.
Integrated our research institutions: the Techno-Research Laboratory, the Materials Research Laboratory and the Semiconductor Growth System Department.
2015 Formulated the Management Philosophy, Action Guidelines and long-term vision.
2018 Established a sales company of rock drill products, Furukawa Machinery Asia SDN. BHD. in Malaysia.

2020~

2021 Put a function of the head office together and moved to the Tokiwabashi Tower in Otemachi Tokyo.
Made Yamaishi Metal Co.,Ltd. is the consolidated subsidiary.
2022 Resolved the dissolution of rock drill machinery distribution subsidiaries in Panama and China.
Established Furukawa C&F Co., Ltd. by spun off Furukawa Castec Co., Ltd.

Let us introduce the history of Furukawa Co., Ltd.
which has been developed along with the history of Japan.