Klingelnberg's Japan Subsidiary Celebrates 70 Years

The founding of the Japanese operation in May 1954 laid the groundwork for offering customers and partners consultations and services in-country and in the local language. Since then, not only has the market continually evolved, so too has the company.

Today, Klingelnberg Japan LTD. has 30 employees who, in addition to sales and service activities in Yokohama, also offer their own grinding service for tool maintenance at the Nagoya location. The Japanese team is supported by a close partnership with sales, technical and service colleagues from Germany and Switzerland. “We are proud of the long-standing trust of our customers in Japan,” said Subaru Kamino, Director of Klingelnberg Japan LTD. Thorsten Eckhoff, Representative Director and Chief Executive Officer of Klingelnberg Japan LTD. since August 2022, adds: “This success story serves as an incentive for us going forward to supply top-quality machines and services with excellent customer service, and to continue offering our Japanese customers innovative and efficient solutions in the new markets, electromobility in particular.”

1954: How it all began

The founding of Klingelnberg Japan LTD. in Tokyo on 19 May 1954, marked the beginning of it all. Due to the proximity to the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation and the simultaneous merger between the Klingelnberg Group and Oerlikon Geartec AG – at that time a Toyota supplier–Klingelnberg opened another office at the Mikawo Anjo/Aichi Area location in the 1990s. There, thanks to the adjoining demonstration center, the company also had the opportunity to present its machines live to customers.

In September 1998, the company acquired its own property and relocated its headquarters from the Japanese capital Tokyo to Yokohama, the country’s second-largest metropolis.

Yokohama has a population of over 3.7 million, is part of the Tokyo metropolitan area and is an important industrial, commercial and port city. Even though only 25 kilometers separate the two cities, Yokohama has its own distinctive culture, industry and economy alongside Tokyo.

2005: Introduction of cylindrical gear technology

Seven years later, another highlight in the company history followed: In 2005, Klingelnberg Japan LTD. was already representing Höfler Maschinenbau from Germany, which was later acquired in 2012, and began selling Höfler Cylindrical Gear Grinding Machines in the Land of the Rising Sun.

2013: Grinding service center in Nagoya

In addition to the traditional sales and service business, Klingelnberg inaugurated the grinding service center in Nagoya on June 21, 2013–and along with it, the next big chapter in its corporate biography. Since then, Klingelnberg has been offering a complete service in Japan’s fourth largest city: from the manufacture of new stick blades, to sharpening and re-coating to the delivery of fully set-up cutter heads. In cooperation with the in-house application engineering department, Klingelnberg also takes care of tool design, data and drawing production as well as optimization of tool geometries and thus tool life.

The most recent Klingelnberg location is approximately 380 kilometers from the headquarters in Yokohama. This is equivalent to a one-and-a-half-hour train ride between the two locations. Here, Klingelnberg benefits from the attractive location of the parent company: only about ten minutes away on foot is the “Shin Yokohama Station” stop of the Yokohama Interchange Station. This intercity station has been in operation since 1964 and is a major transportation hub on Japan’s main island of Honshu, which is also considered the “heartland” of Japan.

The Japanese subsidiary will also be present at the JIMTOF trade fair in 2024, which will take place in Tokyo from 05 to 10 November 2024. The Klingelnberg Japan Team is looking forward to numerous visitors and discussions. For more information about the 70-year success story, visit:

klj70years.klingelnberg.com