Industry Precious metals Founded 1885 | Number of employees 3,600 (group, 2013) | |
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Type Public limited company (Japan) Products Industrial materials, Precious metal processing Revenue 839,264 mln. JPY (group consolidated, 30 March 2013) Total assets 401,485 mln. JPY (group consolidated, 30 March 2013) Subsidiaries Tanaka Kikinzoku International K.K. | ||
The Tanaka Kikinzoku Group, founded 1885, is a Japanese manufacturer of precious metals materials focussing mainly on products for the electronics, semi conductor and automotive industries. Tanaka's European subsidiary is Tanaka Kikinzoku International (Europe) GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany while Tanaka's US subsidiary is Tanaka Kikinzoku International (America) Inc. in Chicago, United States.
Contents
- 1884 1924 Foundation Meiji and Taisho Era
- 1925 1964 Showa Era Second World War Period of High Economic Growth to the Tokyo Olympics
- 1965 2010 Beyond Year 40 ShowaHigh Economic Growth to Present Day
- Customers
- Products
- References
The name Tanaka Kikinzoku (Pronunciation according to IPA: [ˈtanaka kiˈkinzokɯ]) traces back to the owners' family name "Tanaka" (田中) and the Japanese word for precious metals "Kikinzoku" (貴金属).
According to its company information, Tanaka is leading the world market for bonding wire and catalysts for PEM fuel cells.
1884-1924 Foundation: Meiji and Taisho Era
Founded as a money exchange firm, Tanaka then became known as a company which connected industry with platinum. From platinum filament wire used in light bulbs to platinum metal recovery and thereafter as the first fabricator of platinum fine filament wire in Japan. The Taisho and early Showa eras, during the modernization of Japan's industries, can be considered the development stage of Tanaka's research and manufacture of industrial Precious Metals Products.
1925-1964 Showa Era - Second World War - Period of High Economic Growth to the Tokyo Olympics
Under a policy of National Wealth the early part of this era was strongly influenced by the military. During the Second World War the company was under the administration of the Army. Closed to trade with advanced nations it was forced to promote greater domestic reliance and developed various technologies. For example, products that contributed to Japan's postwar economic recovery such as electrical contacts for power generation, nozzles for the synthetic fiber industry and Precious Metals materials for electrical household appliances and radios came to occupy a large proportion in the industry.
1965-2010 Beyond Year 40 Showa :High Economic Growth to Present Day
After 1965 the period in which the Japanese economy rushed to build a foundation centered on the Electrical, Communications, Petro-Chemical and Electronics industries. During the same period in the field of Precious Metals, the company built the foundation that is the Tanaka Kikinzoku Group of today. This period of high economic growth brought increased income, widespread availability of consumer goods, raised the standard of living and has become the model of today's wealthy Japan. The Second Gold Boom of 1981 brought many individual investors and a flourishing business to the company's retail shops.
Customers
The customers are companies from the electronics, semiconductor, automotive, aerospace, telecommunications, pharmaceutic and glass industries.
Products
The main business are materials and semi-fabricated products made of precious metals for industrial applications.