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THK company history

A brief outline of THK's history, including major milestones and product timelines

'70
Establishment

In 1971, THK was established in Meguro-ku, Tokyo, under its original,  Toho Seiko Co., Ltd.

Development of "LM Guide"
LM Guide

LM Guide

In 1972, THK became the first company in the world to develop a method of providing linear motion with rolling contact, and began to manufacture and selling the result, the Linear Motion (LM) Guide.

Establishment of Kofu Plant in Japan
Kofu Plant in 1977

Kofu Plant in 1977

In 1977, THK's Kofu Plant, the first full-scale LM Guide production plant, was established. This was THK's first step in expanding production facilities.

 
'80
Expanding our distribution bases to the United States and Germany
THK America,Inc.(USA)

THK America, Inc.（USA）

Believing that "good technologies can be transferred across borders, and so can the satisfaction of the efficient manufacturing these technologies bring," we decided to expand our overseas business. The 1981 founding of THK America Inc. in the United States and the founding of THK Europe in Germany the following year formed the basis of our international sales network's expansion.

Expanding manufacturing bases in Japan
Ymaguchi Plant

Yamaguchi Plant

To meet increased market demands, we established the Gifu Plant in Japan in 1984. We also established the Mie Plant and the Yamaguchi Plant in Japan in 1985 for further increases of our manufacturing capacity

 
'90
World-first development of Caged Ball LM Guides
Caged Ball LM Guide

Caged Ball LM Guide

In 1996, THK developed "Caged Ball LM Guides", which offer significantly increased performance over conventional products. As human and environment friendly products, Caged Ball LM Guides have the following outstanding features:

  • Long service life with reduced maintenance needs 
  • Low noise emission and acoustics
  • Ultra-high-speed operation
  • Low dust emission
  • Very smooth operation
Expansion of overseas manufacturing bases
THK Manufacturing of Europe(France)

THK Manufacturing of Europe（France）

To meet increased demands from global markets, we established THK Manufacturing of America in the United States and, in 2000, THK Manufacturing of Europe in France. We have expanded globalization of the manufacturing capability to quickly respond to local needs.

 
2000
Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in February 2001.
THK Sales graph

THK sales graph.(Millions of Yen)

World tetra-lateral system (Japan, Europe, Americas and Asia)
A sign in Shang-hai(China)

THK Manufacturing of China (Wuxi) Co., Ltd

To meet the demands of the rapidly growing Chinese market, we established THK Shanghai Co., Ltd. as a sales base in 2003. Then in 2005, we established THK Manufacturing of China (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. and THK Manufacturing of China (Liaoning) Co., Ltd. as manufacturing plants. We now have manufacturing and sales bases in a tetra-lateral system: Japan, Europe, Americas and Asia.

 
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