Founding Period
Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. was established in 1937.
Our founder, who had honed his manufacturing skills at Uryu Seisaku in Osaka, with the aim of becoming the best pneumatic tool craftsman in Japan, returned to his hometown of Fukuoka.
On February 11, 1937, he established a company in Takeshita, Fukuoka City to manufacture pneumatic tools for coal mines. He named the company Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co. with the decisive goal of becoming the best pneumatic tool company in Asia in the future.
At that time, most pneumatic tools were for coal mines. The fact that our company was located in Kyushu, the home of coal mines, was our most significant advantage during our founding period.
One day, the company received a large order from Nishimatsu Gumi (now Nishimatsu Construction) for 10 drifters (large rock drills) for Miyazaki’s Murasho power plant.
This allowed production to get going and the company became very active. The company changed its organization from a limited partnership to a joint stock company, increased its capital, and made a new start on December 9 of that year.
Thereafter, various efforts through trial and error, such as performing repairs for Mitsui Mine, led to technological improvements at Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. and the development of new products.
Post-War Reconstruction Period
Coal, coal, and coal!
Coal was the only natural resource left in Japan after the war, and the government worked to significantly increase coal production as a national policy for reconstruction.
In 1951, Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. received a request from the Mitsubishi Sakito Coal Mine in Nagasaki to develop a chain hoist for removing steel piles that could be used even in narrow coal mines.
At that time, most of the coal mines adopted the Kappe coal mining method, and it was extremely difficult, dangerous, and inefficient to remove steel piles in narrow mines. Understanding the situation, our founder practically gave up sleeping and eating while he worked hard to develop a small air chain hoist. The first air chain hoist, a 3-ton machine, was finally completed in September of the following year. The Toku air chain hoist designed to meet on-site needswas improved several times and adopted by many coal mines in Japan.
Tap Hole Drilling Machine
In 1953, after the completion of the air chain hoist, one engineer at Yahata Steel Works said, "We want you to make a domestic tap hole drilling machine for use in blast furnaces. If possible, it would be nice to have something remote-controlled."
In 1955, after much trial and error, Japan’s first remote-controlled tap hole drilling machine was finally ready.
These machines were successively adopted for blast furnaces by both domestic and foreign steel manufacturers.
Turning Point
Decline of coal mines and market shift
Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. relied heavily on coal mines after the war, and as a result, business deteriorated rapidly with the decline of coal mines due to the energy revolution.
In 1956, Japan was rebuilding steadily, but we realized that Japan was still lagging far behind Western countries in building and civil engineering. Because of this fact, we anticipated that public investment would bring a great deal of activity in civil engineering projects. Therefore, we immediately changed course to make civil engineering tools our main products.
During this period, we actively introduced expensive, advanced processing machinery into our factories and began to expand exports.
The two oil crises in the 1970s threw Japan into a recession. However, the export business we had been pursuing for several years began to bear fruit, allowing us to overcome the crisis.
Encounter with Hydraulic Breakers
While looking for new products with potentiality in manufacturing based on existing equipment and technical capabilities, Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. attended a construction equipment show held in Las Vegas. It was there that we first encountered hydraulic breakers.
Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. started a project to develop a hydraulic breaker based on a unique design, completing a prototype after repeated trying and testing day and night. The prototype was highly regarded by a construction company that requested a field test.
Full-scale production began in April 1982. It then became the main product.
As Our 100th Anniversary Approaches
With the changing times...
As a manufacturer of various products focusing on simplicity and high quality, Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. is steadily building a new manufacturing environment, including plant development.
Due to the recent drastic global changes Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. has experienced very challenging business environment. But Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. has followed in the footsteps of predecessors, indomitable spirit and tenacity led Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. to overcome several management crises during the founding and post-war turbulence to lay the foundation for today. Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. will continue to contribute to the society and produce as one of the leading companies in the industry by utilizing the technological capabilities and trust.
As 100th anniversary approaches in 2037, Toku Pneumatic Tool Mfg. Co.,Ltd. will embark on a new challenge to become the best pneumatic tool company in the world.
