Company History

  • 1974~1983
  • April 1974 Established as HARDLOCK Co. in Nagata, Joto-ku, Osaka and began manufacturing and sales of the HARDLOCK nuts.
  • March 1977 Company name changed to HARDLOCK Co., Ltd. (capitalized at ¥4 million).
  • June 1977 Higashi-Osaka Factory established.
  • March 1979 Began manufacturing and sales of the HLB (HARDLOCK Bearing) bearing-use loosening stopping nuts.
  • October 1982 Tokyo Branch Office established at Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo.
  • June 1983 Began cold forging beginning with small-diameter sized products.
  • 1990~2001
  • August 1990 Head Office and Head Office Factory moved to present location.
  • August 1994 Capital increased to ¥10 million.
  • May 1996 Tokyo Branch Office moved to present location.
  • April 1997 Head Office No.3 Factory began operation.
  • September 1997 Listed in Daikyoso Jidai o Hiraku ("Forging Ahead in the Era of Big Competition"), published by Nihon Kogyo Shimbun Co.
  • January 1998 Received the R&D Award at the 15th Annual Excellent Executive Awards sponsored by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Co.
  • December 1998 Receive Excellent Company Award from Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
  • December 1998 Receive Presidents Award from The Higashiosaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  • May 1999 Receive Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun Award from Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun
  • June 1999 Began manufacturing a new product SLN (Space Lock Nut) and began partial sales of this product to specified customers.
  • April 2000 Began manufacturing new products HLS (HARDLOCK Set screw) and HL-P (HARDLOCK Pin lock bolt) and began partial sales of these products to specified customers.
  • October 2000 HARDLOCK corporate homepage opened (Japanese language and English language versions).
  • October 2000 Head Office No.4 Factory began operation.
  • December 2000 Trading Department established.
  • March 2001 Obtained ISO 9002 certification from TÜV (for the SLN).
  • May 2001 Receive certification for HARDLOCK Nut to be used on British railway Railtrack traffic signal (certification number: PA05/867)
  • November 2001 Installed a booth at the WCRR (World Congress on Railway Research) held at the Cologne Messe, Germany.
  • November 2001 Appeared on NHK Osaka's new office building completion ceremonial program Itsutsu no Sentaku ("Five Choices").
  • December 2001 Welcomed Japan observation party from Eastern Europe on tour of the Company’s factories.
  • 2002~
  • March 2002 Appeared in the Higashi-Osaka special edition of TBS TV’s program Broadcaster.
  • May 2002 Began manufacturing a new product SLB (Space Lock Bearing nut) and began partial sales of this product to specified customers.
  • January 2003 The HARDLOCK Nut selected as a good design product in a first for a product in this field.
  • January 2003 Receive Special Encouragement Award at the 36th Annual Small and Medium-Scale Enterprise Research Center Awards sponsored by the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprise Research Center.
  • March 2003 Various HARDLOCK Nut fasteners used for Taiwan Rapid Transit.
    among them, accepted orders for 4 million sets of rail fastener (ended August 2004)
  • November 2003 Obtained ISO 9001 certification.
  • September 2003 Lee-O Trading becomes Korean distributor (http://www.hardlocknut.co.kr/)
  • October 2003 Steelrod Pty Ltd. becomes Australian distributor(www.steelrod.com.au)
  • October 2003 Receive certification from Network Rail requiring HARDLOCK Nut to be used in one portion of British railways.
  • November 2003 Acquired ISO9001-2000 certification for HARDLOCK Nut, HARDLOCK Bearing nut, Space Lock nut from TUV Germany.
  • December 2003 Receive certification for using the HARDLOCK Nut for Queensland, Australia's rail train railway signaling system (certification number: C0054)
  • November 2004 Participated in JETRO (LL Project). Negotiated with several companies in Montreal, Canada.
  • December 2004 President elected board member of Metal Industry Subcommittee by Higashiosaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • December 2004 President elected as member of the Small and Mid-size Companies Committee by Higashiosaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
  • May 2005 Receive thank you letter and gift from the Taiwan Shinkansen Consortium.
  • June 2005 President conducts lecture at Osaka University of Commerce.
  • July 2005 Announce research thesis on HARDLOCK Nut locking effect at ASME PVP 2005 held in Denver, Colorado.
  • November 2005 Introduce new Junker system loosening test machine developed through industry-university collaboration
  • November 2005 Space Lock Nut granted the Good Design Award.
  • March 2006 Release HL Spray, a high performance lubricant collaboratively developed with Fuchs in Germany.
  • April 2006 Monograph released at the SAE 2006 World Congress in Detroit, USA vaunting the HARDLOCK Nut as extremely effective for axial perpendicular loads.
  • July 2006 Monograph released at the ASME 2006 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference in Vancouver, Canada, finding the HARDLOCK Nut loosening effect to be superior in FEM analysis and other tests.
  • December 2006 BBC channel 1 introduces the effectiveness of HARDLOCK Nut loosening in a program on railway accidents, leading to increased use in the railway industry.
  • February 2007 The HARDLOCK Nut is certified as a number one product and unique product by the Higashi Osaka Brand Promotion Organization.
  • March 2007 Selected for the silver award for the Ninth Higashi Osaka Manufacturing Grand Prize.
  • April 2009 Selected as one of the 300 most active small and medium-sized companies in 2009, HARDLOCK received a letter of gratitude from Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro Nikai.
  • April 2009 Listed as an enterprise changing conceptions despite worsening economic conditions in the 2009 "White Paper on Small and Medium Enterprises in Japan."
  • July 2010 HARDLOCK attends the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK as a member of the JAIF (Japan Aerospace Industry Forum).
  • March 2011 Visited Boeing again to follow up on the "Aircraft Business Mission" sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
  • March 2011 HARDLOCK President Wakabayashi's book "The Screw that Never Comes Loose: How a Small Company Became a Top Global Player" released by Chukei Publishing in bookstores throughout Japan, with additional copies printed, bringing sales to 16,000 copies. It is to be released in China, South Korea and Taiwan near the beginning of next year.
  • June 2011 The 200-page "Fasteners that Stay Fastened: 2011 Comprehensive Catalog" is completed at last.