With over 100 years of experience, Toho has made lasting impacts in a variety of different industries.
Early History
In 1819 in Nagoya, Japan, the Tomita family, founders of modern day Toho Technology, saw a new business opportunity and began distribution of imported American dry goods into feudal Japan. As markets and society changed, the business operation also evolved taking advantage of economic growth in land development, raw materials and commercial industries. In the first 100 years, the company expanded operations and continued to meet the growing need for newer products and innovative solutions. In the mid-20th century Toho emerged as a distributor and manufacturer of industrial electronics and new technologies with a foundational relationship with Hitachi and other local electronics manufacturers.
Broadening Horizons
In the latter years of the 20th century, Toho diversified operations to include manufacturing of various industrial electronics, factory automation systems, building systems, industrial contract manufacturing operations and clean technologies to meet the market demands in micro-electronics, automotive and industrial market segments. Toho started its Metrology and Wet Process business in the 1980’s and shortly thereafter, broadened its product portfolio to include wafer cleaning and inspection equipment. Since the late 1990’s Toho’s processing and inspection businesses have been further enhanced with consecutive acquisitions and technology transfers from leading American Fortune 500 companies like KLA-Tencor, Nanometrics, Zygo Corporation and other global leaders in industrial technology.
Expanding Our Reach
As in the past, Toho continues to dynamically grow and develop new business operations in mature and emerging markets. New businesses have been expanding in China since 1994 and in the United States since 2001 with the establishment of Toho Technology Inc. in Chicago Illinois. Recent operations have been established in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia as opportunities in Asia continue to expand.
Looking to the Future
Toho Technology is committed to meeting global demands for extremely sophisticated and reliable technological solutions in a wide variety of industrial markets. To fulfill this need, Toho Technology continues to aggressively invest in new operations and technologies that will meet the challenges of tomorrow.
Timeline
1932
• Toa Industries established in Nagoya, Japan (first entry into technology markets)
1961
• Industrial and Consumer Electronics operations divided into two companies
1969
• Initiated Manufacturing operations for industrial electronics in Japan
1970
• Established Engineering operations in group companies
1977
• Began Multiplex Transmission device sales and manufacturing of TOLINE series
1988
• Constructed new Headquarters building in central Nagoya, Japan
1990
• Merged industrial and home appliance divisions
1991
• Constructed and opened new Factory in Inazawa, Japan
1994
• Established joint venture in China with regional government
1999
• Concluded Technology Transfer from KLA-Tencor Corporation for Profiler systems for the Displays Market
2001
• Established Toho Technology U.S.A. llc in Chicago, Illinois U.S.A. • Established Shanghai Toho Technology Co., Ltd in Shanghai, China
2002
• Established Toho Technology Co., Ltd in Shanghai Quingpu Industrial Park
2003
• Concluded Technology Transfer from KLA-Tencor Corporation for Thin Film Stress Measurement systems • Achieved ISO 14001 Certification • Established Eastern HVAC Systems Co., Ltd. in Nagoya, Japan
2004
• Opening of New Factory, Toho Shanghai East Technology Co., Ltd, Quing Pu, China • Operations established in Toyota city, Japan and Tianjin, China
2005
• Concluded Technology Transfer from Nanometrics Inc. for Thin Film measurement systems for the Displays Market • Opened sales office in Suzuhou, China & Ogaki, Japan
2006
• Established Design and Development center in Shanghai, China • Operations established in Okazaki, Japan
2007
• Operations established in Shiga Prefecture, Japan
2008
• Tokyo Applications and Sales office opened in Akihabara, Central Tokyo
2009
• Concluded Technology Transfer from Zygo Corporation for Optical Inspection systems for the Displays Market
2010
• Operations in Singapore and Taiwan officially established
2011
• Operations established in Korea, Wuxi, China, Guangzhou, China established • Acquired Water Purification technologies featuring Electrolysis Cleaning systems
2012
• Toho Indonesia established in Jakarta to serve industrial growth emerging markets • Toho Technology Inc. re-incorporated and expanded
2013
• Launched Distribution of Kramer Sonic Industries Scanning Acoustic Microscopy systems in North America • Expanded Distribution of Medical Diagnostic Equipment in Japan
2014
• Acquired leading industrial electronics manufacturer Yoshida Electric Industry Co. Ltd. • Established Silicon Valley business development operation
2015
• Launched Toho Automation Sales activity in the United States • Expanded U.S. Sales Representation of Nanometrics Material Characterization products
2016
• Tripled size of U.S. sales office with move to new commercial loft facility in Chicago. • Acquired Daito Mitech, maker of x-ray imaging software and process equipment. • Concluded distribution agreement with U.S. OLED equipment maker, Kateeva. • Acquired ground-breaking technology license in rapid pathogen detection from U.S. medical technology corporation.
2017
• Launched CERTUS, a new brand in the food safety industry.
The Toho Way
Toho Technology advances the way products are made, tested and verified. With the acumen to lead, the tenacity to succeed and the ambition to continually improve upon established conventions, we engineer, manufacture, distribute and support diverse industrial and life-science technologies. We are committed to meeting global demands for extremely sophisticated and reliable technological solutions in a wide variety of industrial markets.