History
Story of the 91ɬÂþ Group
In 1939, 91ɬÂþ Light Metal Co., Ltd. (91ɬÂþ), was jointly incorporated by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., and Tokyo Dento (currently TEPCO) as an aluminum smelting company.
In 1949, 91ɬÂþ 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. 91ɬÂþ, 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, 91ɬÂþ 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 91ɬÂþ Group. After the year 2000, 91ɬÂþ shifted overseas expansion into high gear, with expansion into China, Southeast Asia, and North America. In 2012, 91ɬÂþ Light Metal Holdings Co., Ltd., was established as a pure holdings company, overseeing the 91ɬÂþ 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, 91ɬÂþ will contribute to the development of society and protection of the global environment.
In 2019, we relocated the office of 91ɬÂþ Light Metal Holdings Co., Ltd., to Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, with the aim of allowing the 91ɬÂþ Group to continue creating new value for our customers by facilitating group communication and collaboration.
Chronology of 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ Light Metal Co., Ltd., was incorporated jointly by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., and Tokyo Dento (currently TEPCO) to start the aluminum smelting. |
| 1940 | 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ started aluminum smelting at the former Niigata Plant. 91ɬÂþ 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. 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ established technical ties with US-based Fruehauf International Limited. 91ɬÂþ 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., (later to be known as Kambara Extrusion Plant, currently Nikkkeikin ACT Co., Ltd.) started operation. Hikari Co., Ltd., (currently Nikkei Extrusions Company, Ltd.) was established. |
| Fabrication Business Expansion Phase | |
|---|---|
| 1974 | 91ɬÂþ merged with Nikkei Aluminium Co., Ltd., and inherited the sales business of Nikkei Aluminium Rolling Company Ltd. to form a total aluminum business system. 91ɬÂþ and Alcan jointly established Alpack Aluminium in Canada. |
| 1977 | Nikkei Hokusei House Building Materials Co., Ltd., (currently Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd.) was established. |
| 1978 | 91ɬÂþ merged with Nikkei Aluminium Rolling Company Ltd. Nikkei Unyu Soko Co., Ltd., (currently Nikkei Logistics Co., Ltd.) was established. |
| 1979 | 91ɬÂþ 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 (later to be known as the Niigata Plant, currently Nikkkeikin ACT Co., Ltd.) started operation as aluminum extrusion plant. |
| 1983 | 91ɬÂþ sold the former headquarters building in Ginza. Nikkei Tomakomai Co., Ltd., was established, to which 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ moved the headquarters to Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo. 91ɬÂþ consolidated the Group's building material businesses to establish Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd. |
| 1985 | The Tomakomai Electrolytic Plant discontinued operation. Nikkaru Extrusion Co., Ltd., (later to be known as Nikkei Kambara Co., Ltd., currently Nikkkeikin ACT Co., Ltd) was integrated into 91ɬÂþ. |
| 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 91ɬÂþ Construction Material department was integrated into Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd. Nonfemet International Aluminium Co., Ltd., was established in Shenzhen, China. 91ɬÂþ spun off the Cold Energy System Sales Division to establish Nikkei Cold Energy Co., Ltd., (currently the Panel System Division of the Company). 91ɬÂþ commenced operations at Kambara Capacitor Foil Plant. |
| 1987 | 91ɬÂþ formed alliance with US-based Modine. Nikkei Heat Exchanger Co., Ltd., was established. |
| 1988 | The Kambara Heat Exchanger Plant started operation. 91ɬÂþ acquired capital in Alcan Thailand. 91ɬÂþ merged with Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd., and Hokusei Aluminium Co., Ltd. |
| 1989 | 91ɬÂþ merged with Nikkei Kako Co., Ltd., and Nikkei Tomakomai Co., Ltd. |
| 1991 | 91ɬÂþ merged with Taishin Light Metal Co., Ltd. |
| 1992 | 91ɬÂþ merged with Alcan Asean Co., Ltd. 91ɬÂþ acquired a controlling interest of Aluminium Company of Malaysia (known as ALCOM for short) and Alcan Siam (currently Alcan Nikkei Siam Ltd.). 91ɬÂþ bought into Matsuo Kogyo Co., Ltd. (currently Nikkei Matsuo Co., Ltd.) ¡ù´_ÕJÖÐ |
| 1993 | 91ɬÂþ merged with Nikkei Cold Energy Co., Ltd., (currently the Panel System Division of the Company). |
| 1995 | 91ɬÂþ merged with Nikkei Techno-Research Co., Ltd. Nikkei Research and Development Center (NRDC) was established. |
| 1996 | 91ɬÂþ headquarters moved to Higashi-shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo. 91ɬÂþ Group consolidated aluminum consumer products sales divisions to establish Nikkei Products Co., Ltd. 91ɬÂþ bought into Toyo Aluminium K.K. 91ɬÂþ transferred the building material division of the Funabashi Plant to Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd. 91ɬÂþ 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. 91ɬÂþ joined Daiki Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., to establish Daiki Nikkei Thai Co., Ltd., for production and sales of aluminum alloys in Thailand. 91ɬÂþ merged with Toyo Aluminium K.K. Toyo Aluminium Central Office was established. 91ɬÂþ 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. 91ɬÂþ 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. 91ɬÂþ made Shin Nikkei Co., Ltd., a 100% subsidiary. 91ɬÂþ adopted the officer system. |
| 2001 | 91ɬÂþ abolished the central office system. The Commercialization Strategy Project Office was established. The 91ɬÂþ Communication Mark was established. |
| 2002 | 91ɬÂþ spun off the Panel System Division to establish Nikkei Panel System Co., Ltd. 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ established Alcan Nikkei Siam Ltd. (currently Nikkei Siam Aluminium Ltd.) as a consolidated subsidiary. 91ɬÂþ introduced FLEXCASTER(Continuous Casting Machine for sheet) |
| 2004 | 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ made Tokai Aluminum Foil Co., Ltd., a subsidiary. 91ɬÂþ 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. 91ɬÂþ 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. 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ 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 | 91ɬÂþ established an intermediary stock holding company, Nikkeikin Kakoh Kaihatsu Holdings Co., Ltd., which controls the Group's extrusion and extrusion processing businesses. 91ɬÂþ Fruehauf established Shandong Conglin Fruehauf Automobile Co., Ltd. in Longkou, China |
| 2012 | 91ɬÂþ 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 £Ô£®£Ó£®£Ô£®£Î£É£Ë£Ë£Å£É¡¡£Í£Å£Ô£Á£Ì£Å£Ó¡¡£Ó£®£ä£å¡¡£Ò£®£Ì£®¡¡£ä£å¡¡£Ã£®£Ö£® In Mexico |
| 2014 | 91ɬÂþ Light Metal Co., Ltd., discontinued its electrolytic aluminum smelting business. |
| 2015 | 91ɬÂþ makes Toyo Rikagaku Kenkyusho, Ltd. a subsidiary. |
| 2016 | Toyo Aluminium K.K. establishes Toyal MMP India Private Limited in India. |
| 2018 | 91ɬÂþ makes Sumikei Nikkei Engineering Co., Ltd. (currently Nikkei Engineering Co., Ltd.) a consolidated subsidiary. |
| 2019 | 91ɬÂþ makes Nikkei Heat Exchanger Co., Ltd. a subsidiary. |
| 91ɬÂþ Light Metal Georgia, Inc. is established in the United States. | |
| 91ɬÂþ transfers its headquarters to Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo. | |
| 2023 | 91ɬÂþ 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 91ɬÂþ".? |
| 2026 | Nikkei Niigata Co., Ltd. and Nikkei Kamabara Co., Ltd. were integrated into Nikkeikin ACT Co., Ltd. |