KOMORI HISTORY

Komori Corporation was founded in 1923 in Kitashinmachi,Honjo-ku. In 1925, the first lithograph roll printing press and 32-inch manual press were produced. The first 4-colour Komori press was introduced in 1957, and by early 1960’s the product line included dry offset currency press.

1967 marked the opening of the production facility in Toride. Komori Printing School, first of its kind in the industry, was established in 1968.

The 1970’s saw the development of one of the most popular half-sized printing presses in the world - the Komori Sprint, and the building of another manufacturing facility - the Sekiyado Plant.

Komori Corporation experienced tremendous growth in many aspects during the 1980’s, with the formation of Komori America Corporation in 1982, Komori Europe Limited (present Komori U.K Limited) in Leeds, UK in 1984, Komori Europe B.V. (present Komori International (Europe) B.V., in Maachen, the Netherlands) in 1988, and Komori-Chambon SA (in Orleans, France) in 1989. Komori shares were listed on the Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges. The Yamagata Machinery Plant, specializing in the production of the small presses, started production in 1986.

Most importantly, the 1980’s witnessed the birth of the legendary Lithrone Series press which had become the foundation on which the later generations of Lithrone, including the Super Perfector and Lithrone S40, are built.

In the 1990’s, Komori continued to enjoy the growing market share of its products worldwide, and by the end of the decade celebrated the sale of the 10,000th Lithrone unit. Komori APC, the world’s first fully automated plate changing system, was introduced in 1990. The 1990’s also represented the development of many exciting new machines and features, i.e. 15,000 sph Lithrone press, the Super Perfector, new Sprint, KHS system, and System 38 web press.

Drupa 2000 witnessed the world debut of the Komori Super Perfector, Project D, 15,000 sph Lithrone presses, and K-Color Profiler.

The multiple award winner Lithrone S40 was first unveiled in the Spring of 2002 at Ipex in UK, with a subsequent first showing in USA at Graph Expo 2002 and in Canada in the Fall 2003. In the Summer 2003, the first phase of the new ultra-modern assembling facility in Tsukuba was opened for assembly and print testing of the new Lithrone S40 and Super Perfector presses.

Komori Corporation celebrated its 80th Anniversary in 2003. Under the leadership of Mr. Yoshiharu Komori, President and CEO, Komori Corporation is well positioned to continue to be the leader in printing technology in the 21th century.