Awards and Certifications

  • January 1998 Received the "R&D Award" in the 15th Excellent Entrepreneur Award Ceremony sponsored by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
  • December 1998 Received the "Excellence in Business Award" from Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
  • December 1998 Received the "President's Award" from the Higashi Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • May 1999 Received the "Nikkan Kogyo Newspaper Advertising Award" from Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun.
  • July 2000 The HARDLOCK trademark is officially registered as trademark number 4402041.
  • July 2000 HLB has already been registered as trademark number 1930045.
  • July 2000 Space Lock Nut is trademarked as trademark number 422208.
  • March 2001 ISO 9002 certification received from TUV for the Space Lock Nut.
  • May 2001 The HARDLOCK Nut is certified for use in Railtrack signal devices in the UK, certification number PA05/867.
  • January 2003 The HARDLOCK Nut is selected as the first Good Design Product in the industry.
  • January 2003 Received the 36th "Special Award of Encouragement" from the Medium and Small Business Research Institute.
  • January 2003 The HLS-HARDLOCK Setscrew is trademarked as trademark number 4708616.
  • October 2003 The national Network Rail issues a letter of certification instructing the National Rail to use the HARDLOCK Nut, certification number PA05/02077. Certifications in additional locations as certification numbers PA05/485 Cat No 86/011516 and PA05/865 Cat No 86/063903.
  • November 2003 Received ISO 9001-2000 certification from German company TUV for the HARDLOCK Nut, HBL, and the Space Lock Nut.
  • December 2003 Received certification (number C0054) for use of HARDLOCK Nut on the Australian Queensland Rail (QR) signal systems, followed by certification in the State of Victoria.
  • December 2004 HARDLOCK chair selected as the Standing Manager of the Metal Industry Subcommittee by the Higashi Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • December 2004 HARDLOCK chair selected as committee member on the Small and Medium Business Committee by the Higashi Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • May 2005 Received letter of appreciation for contributions to railway construction from the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation.
  • November 2005 Space Lock Nut selected as a Good Design Product.
  • February 2007 Received ISO 9001-2000 certification from German company TUV for the HARDLOCK Nut, HBL, Space Lock Nut, and HLS.
  • February 2007 Company products certified as unique Higashi Osaka brands.
  • March 2007 Received silver award for the Ninth Osaka Manufacturing Grand Prize.
  • April 2008 French company ETESIA evaluated HARDLOCK with a perfect score in the three areas of delivery, quality and price.
  • June 2009 Selected as one of the "300 most active small and medium-sized companies supporting the future of Japan" by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2009, HARDLOCK receives a letter of gratitude from the minister.
  • June 2009 Selected as one of the "100 most active manufacturing companies in Kansai of 2009" by the Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • July 2009 Selected as one of the "100 most active manufacturing companies in Kansai of 2009" by the Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry.
     The Third Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award
  • August 2009 The major of Higashi Osaka City sends a letter expressing gratitude to HARDLOCK for the positive PR for the city's manufacturing image that resulted from HARDLOCK being one of the 300 most active manufacturing companies in Japan.
  • August 2009 HARDLOCK President Wakabayashi invited as a guest to give a speech at the ceremony for the Merit Award of the third Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Award, held by the Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry.
     President Wakabayashi gives a speech
  • December 2009 The Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Higashiosaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry praise HARDLOCK Industry for our national decoration and present us with a certificate of recognition.
  • March 2010 HARDLOCK Industry selected by Osaka Prefecture as one of 273 manufacturing leaders to be listed in Osaka Monozukuri Spirits.
  • March 2010 HARDLOCK receives a letter of appreciation from Nippon Steel Engineering for notable contributions to the construction of runway D at Haneda Airport.
  • March 2010 HARDLOCK Industry receives the main award at the 35th Invention Awards, cosponsored by the Japan Society for the Advancement of Inventions and the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun and held at the Meiji Kinenkan. HardLock's president gives a speech in appreciation.
  • April 2010 The HARDLOCK president attends the 22nd cherry blossom viewing event at Shinjuku Gyoen, held by the Japanese prime minister.