History
| 1918 |
Shinano Kenshi Boseki Co., Ltd. is inaugurated with 500,000 yen in capital under an initiative by Yukinori Kaneko to engage in silk spinning.  |
|---|---|
| 1962 |
Establishes the Electrical Division in anticipation of a major change in Japan's industrial structure and launches AC motors for open-reel tape recorders.  |
| 1965 | Norio Kaneko assumes office as President. |
| 1967 | Opens a silk spinning factory in Nagato Town (closed in 1992). |
| 1968 | Opens a silk spinning factory in Sanada Town (closed in 2002). |
| 1971 | Launches fan motors for air-conditioning. |
| 1972 | Hachiro Kaneko assumes office as President. Acquires Hanaoka Hosei Co., Ltd. in Ueda City and opens the Ueda Factory within its site to begin tape deck production. |
| 1973 | Changes the company name to Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd. Launches gear motors for copy machines. |
| 1976 | Launches BGM tape players. |
| 1977 | Launches coreless motors for VCRs. |
| 1980 | Three-division (Textile, Electrical Machinery, Electronic Equipment) system starts. |
| 1981 | Opens the Higashiuchi Factory in Maruko-machi as part of the Electrical Machinery Division expansion program. Launches stepping motors for office automation equipment. |
| 1982 | Increases capital to 300 million yen. Establishes Shinano Kenshi Corporation in Los Angeles, U.S.A. |
| 1984 | Establishes CS Denki Co. Ltd. to offer employment opportunities for senior citizens. |
| 1985 |
Hanaoka Hosei Co., Ltd. is renamed TEXEL Corporation and opens its Tokyo office to engage in export business.  |
| 1986 | Establishes Shinano Kenshi (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. as first overseas production base. |
| 1987 | Establishes Shinano Kenshi (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in Thailand. Launches DC brushless motors with optical encoders. |
| 1989 |
Launches CD-ROM drives and CD-I encoding system.  |
| 1990 | Opens precision motor sales offices in Tokyo and Osaka. Establishes TEXEL America, Inc. in Sunnyvale, California. Acquires the management rights of San-Esu Denki Mfg. Co., Ltd. |
| 1991 | Begins Shinano Kenshi Yan Tian Factory operations as a production base in China. |
| 1992 | Closes Nagato Factory as operations of Shinano Kenshi (Thailand) are expanded and strengthened. Moves TEXEL America, Inc. to Santa Clara, California. Launches double-speed CD-ROM drives. |
| 1993 | Establishes Printing Equipment Division. Establishes PLEXTOR S.A. and Shinano Kenshi Europe, N.V. in Belgium. Electronic Division acquires ISO9002 accreditation. Launches multifunction compact offset printing presses. |
| 1994 | TEXEL America, Inc. is renamed PLEXTOR Corporation, and TEXEL Corporation is renamed PLEXTOR Co., Ltd. in Japan. Establishes Dong Guan Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. as a local subsidiary in Guangdong Province, China. Launches quadruple-speed CD-ROM drives. |
| 1995 | Launches sextuple-speed CD-ROM drives. Establishes PLEXTOR (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in Thailand. Builds a new motor factory in Guangdong Province, China. |
| 1996 | Electronic Equipment and Electrical divisions acquire ISO9001 accreditation. Opens a precision motor sales office in Nagoya. Construction of Electrical Division's East Bldg. at the headquarters is completed, Ueda Factory #2 is integrated inside. CD-based talking book players for the visually impaired are developed. |
| 1997 | Printing Equipment Division acquires ISO9001 accreditation. Launches 32x-speed CD-ROM drives. Launches CD-R drives. Moves Shinano Kenshi's Tokyo Sales Office and PLEXTOR's Tokyo Headquarters to the Yaesu district in front of Tokyo Station. Transfers manufacturing operations of Shinano Kenshi (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. to Dong Guan Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. |
| 1998 |
Dong Guan Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. acquires ISO9002 accreditation.  |
| 1999 | Construction of the new Ueda Factory is completed. Launches CD-RW drives. Dong Guan Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. opens Shanghai Sales Office. Hachiro Kaneko assumes office as Chairman. Motoaki Kaneko assumes office as President & CEO. |
| 2000 | Shinano Kenshi (Thailand) Co., Ltd. acquires ISO9001 accreditation. Music CD audition system based on digital barcode scanning is developed. |
| 2001 | Dong Guan Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. acquires upgraded ISO9001 accreditation. Moves PLEXTOR Corporation to Fremont, Ohio. PLEXTOR Co., Ltd. opens Shanghai Representative Office. Launches slim-type CD-R/RW drives, receives Good Design Award. |
| 2002 | Makes entry into the automobile industry with on-vehicle motors and actuators. CS Denki Co. Ltd. is renamed CS Service Co. Ltd. Launches PLEXTALK portable recorders for the visually impaired, receives Good Design Award. Launches 48x-speed CD-R drives. Launches Inter Media System (IMS). |
| 2003 | Establishes Shinano Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Silk spinning operations in Japan is terminated. Dong Guan Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. acquires ISO14001 accreditation. Launches recordable DVD drives. Launches 52x-speed CD-R/RW drives. Electrical Division opens its Europe Representative Office in Belgium. Textile Division is renamed Engineered Materials Division. Carbon Nanotube-and-copper composite electrolytic powder and the Carbon Silk new material are developed. |
| 2004 | Micro pumps are developed. Establishes Shinano Kenshi Trading in Thailand. Dong Guan Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. acquires ISO/TS16949 accreditation. |
| 2005 | Carbon Silk-and-Carbon Nanotube composite powder is developed. |
| 2006 | Electronic Equipment and Printing Equipment divisions are integrated into Industrial System Equipment Division. |
| 2007 | Digital recorders are developed. Transfers operations of PLEXTOR Co., Ltd. to Shinano Kenshi Co., Ltd. |
| 2008 | Launches "Plexmotion" standard motors and drivers. Launches "PLEXLOGGER" for high-speed visual data verification and analysis. Launches next-generation drive recorders. Launches portable digital talking book players for the visually impaired. Launches the Bicho pocket-type hearing aid after obtaining a medical equipment business license. Launches "MIZUKOTO" healing sound creator. |
| 2009 | Corporate organization is changed from the division system to the business unit system. |
| 2010 | Establishes He Fei Shinano Motor Co., Ltd. in China. Establishes Shinano ABV Technologies Private Limited in India. |
| 2011 | Launches "PLEXLOGGER Thermo" temperature distribution analyzer. Effects a model change to "Bicho" pocket-type hearing aid. |
| 2012 | Receives Japanese Prime Minister's Commendation of Cabinet Office, Barrier-Free Universal Design Contributors Awards 2012. |
| 2014 | Establishes Shinano Kenshi Europe GmbH. |
| 2015 | Opens factory in Mexico for production base. |
| 2016 | Develops DAISY playback app for iPad for special education. |
| 2017 | Incorporates Shinano Kenshi, S.A. de C.V in Mexico. |
| 2018 | Group's 100th anniversary. |
| 2019 |
Introduces new corporate brand "ASPINA". Starts business of end effector for collaborative robots. |
| 2020 | Makes entry into the space industry with core parts for small satellites. |
| 2021 | Autonomous Mobile Robot (AspinaAMR) for the manufacturing plants is developed. |
| 2022 |
Construction of new HQ begins. Changes the name of some overseas subsidiaries to ASPINA. |
| 2024 |
Motoaki Kaneko assumes office as Chairman. Yukihiro Kaneko assumes office as President & CEO. |