100,000 Employees - Started Off with Only Four

From 4 to 100,000 employee-strong in under 50 years

Becoming a 1-trillion-yen company in a mere 40 years of existence
Insight and technical innovation: The keys to tackling changes of the times.

The changes of the times represent important business opportunities. Seizing them brought us where we are today
Here, we will present our history

1973　Establishment of Nidec Corporation

Nidec Corporation established by Shigenobu Nagamori in Kyoto with 3 other employees

Four members starting from a small prefabricated shed

We started small, with no track record to our name but full of hope of becoming the world's No. 1 motor company. And despite the limited interest shown by Japanese corporations, Nidec founder Shigenobu Nagamori’s unrelenting efforts landed us our first project: the American company 3M.

1975 Launched full-scale production of brushless DC motors (for fish finders)

1976 Established Nidec America Corp, a locally-incorporated company

1979 Started production of spindle motors for hard disk drives

Entered the personal computer (PC) related market, which was to become one of the subsequent most important markets.

Was Nidec able to foresee the future potential by quickly entering the PC related market?

It was only four years since the world’s first PC had been created when we entered the market. At that time, PCs were very expensive and not as versatile as they are today. The decision was made to enter the market at a time when nobody imagined that PCs would spread like they have now.

1982–83 Successive development and delivery of motors in response to various needs

1984 Our first M&A

Acquired the axial-flow fan business from Torin Corporation (US).

Established the foundation for global-level share of DC axial-flow fan motors

We noticed Torin Corporation (US) for its strong technical capabilities in fan motors in the 1970s. In 1984, we acquired the axial-flow fan business from Torin Corporation. This M&A became the foundation for expanding shares in DC axial-flow fan motors.

1984 Started expanding production facilities including the Shiga Plant

1986 Achieved net sales of 10 billion yen in fiscal year ended March 1986

1988 Listed on the second section of Osaka Stock Exchange and listed on the Kyoto Stock Exchange

1989 Established full-fledged R&D center

Established an R&D Center in Shiga Prefecture.

For bringing about even more advanced technologies

We established the R&D Center as the core technology unit for motor development in 1989. It was our first full-fledged R&D center, and its establishment was the starting point for the subsequent expansion of our R&D network.

1989 Established Nidec Singapore Pte. Ltd., a locally incorporated company (our first step in Asia)

1990 Established Nidec Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., a locally incorporated company

1992 Established Nidec (Dalian) Ltd., a locally incorporated company in China

1993 Established Nidec Electronics GmbH, a locally incorporated company in Germany

1998 Achieved net sales of 100 billion yen in fiscal year ended March 1998

We achieved net sales of 100 billion yen a little over 20 years after the company was established.

HDD motors, started about 20 years earlier, became a pillar of business.

We decided to enter the PC related market ahead of competitors in the 1970s. This decision bore fruit, and thanks to the rapid growth of the HDD motor business underpinned by the rapid spread of PCs in the late 1990s, net sales exceeded 100 billion yen.

1998 Listed on the first section of Tokyo Stock Exchange
Listed on the first section of Osaka Stock Exchange

1998 Established Shibaura Nidec Corp. (currently Nidec Techno Motor Corporation)

Established Shibaura Nidec Corp. through a joint investment with Shibaura Machinery Corp. and Toshiba Corp.

Gained industry-leading technological capabilities enabling full-fledged expansion into appliance motors

Shibaura Machinery Corp. was an industry pioneer in transistor motor development, with strengths including appliances and commercial motors. Subsequently, it was the first in the industry to develop an IC circuit. In addition, it made significant contributions to achieving high-efficiency air conditioning motors and inverter development. Shibaura Machinery Corp., Nidec and Toshiba formed a joint venture, which helped us to solidify a development and manufacturing foundation for the new domain of appliance motors and subsequently expand our appliance, commercial, and industrial motors business.

2000 Started mass production of motors for electric hydraulic power steering

Mainly adopted by European automobile manufacturers.

Business domains further expanded through new entry into the automotive motor business

We started the development of power steering motors from 1995 using the technology that we refined in small precision motors. We started mass production from 2000 and entered the automotive field. As commercialization of electric vehicles advance, electric power steering motors are becoming an important business area.

2001 Listed on New York Stock Exchange

2003 Head Office and Central Technical Laboratory building completed

2007 Development of F5B motor

Developed a high output motor for radio-controlled airplanes

Radio-controlled airplane motors: Looking ahead to the future of cars

With our sights set on developing car traction motors, we strived to develop a motor for a F5B electric glider, also known as the “radio-controlled Formula 1 car of the skies.” Phenomenal results including winning the world championship have been achieved in a period of just five years, and the technologies accumulated in this process have led to the development of a traction motor.

2011 Number of employees exceeded 100,000

2015 Net sales of 1 trillion yen achieved in fiscal year ended March 2015

We achieved the benchmark net sales of 1 trillion yen in just a little over 40 years after the company was established.

Achieved net sales of over 1 trillion yen!
The next step: 10 trillion yen!

We finally achieved net sales of 1 trillion yen, a result that nobody would had even imagined at the time of foundation. This is thanks to factors including the success of HDD motors, business expansion into new areas, and strategic M&As. Currently, we are pursuing our next target: net sales of 10 trillion yen in FY 2030.

2015 Development of the FLEXWAVE reducer for robots

We expanded our lineup of reducer products.

Our next target is the robot market!
Enhancing our production capacity for reducers

A reducer is used together with a motor as a set to reduce the rotation speed of the motor and increase the rotating force (torque). While reducers have mainly been used in industrial machinery such as conveyors, recently they have also been used in areas requiring fine control like robots. In the robot market, where a rapidly growing demand is expected in the future, we will work to enhance our production capacity in response to the increasing demand for reducers for robots.

2016 Nidec Corporation delists its stocks from the New York Stock Exchange

2017 Full-scale entry into the vehicle traction motor market

Nidec newly developed a traction motor system (E-Axle).

A traction motor system that contributes to the spread of next-generation vehicles

Nidec developed a traction motor system (E-Axle) that comprises a traction motor, gear box, and inverter. An integrated design was adopted in 2018 to achieve a smaller size and lighter weight, and improve the design flexibility. We will continue to meet the needs for next generation automobiles that are expected to grow dramatically.

2017 Development of control technologies for intelligent motors

Jointly developed technologies for coordinated control of a robot equipped with this motor by radio with NEC.

Thinking on its own and answering
Birth of a motor that will bring innovation to the world

An intelligent motor is a motor equipped with a computer that possesses a form of intelligence. The diminishing size and cost of computers has made it possible to equip them to motors. Also, AI and IoT technologies have the potential to make automated driving possible and to bring about big changes in the future.

Nidec will relentlessly pursue challenges for further growth.