Company profile
‘A company that has stayed constantly at the top of the global niche for a hundred years’ – this is what we are aiming for.
Established: November 19, 1947
Representative: Yoshio Komuro, Representative Director
Capital: 20 million yen
Number of employees: 25
Headquarters location: 〒 211-0011
1810-7 Shimonumabe, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa
Tohoku Office: S.S.T Fukushima 9F
8-24 Jinbacho, Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture
Business: Manufacture and sale of various rolled metal foils Manufacture and sale of secondary processed metal products
Our Management Philosophy
We timely deliver products and services of excellent quality,
and contribute to society through people-
and environmentally-friendly corporate activities.
Establishment
of a sound
management
foundation
Enhanced
customer
satisfaction
Pursuit of
excellent
technology
Pursuit of
perfection
for high quality
Respect for
the individual
Contribution
to society
The framework of our management philosophy
History
An episode in the life of the founder
A man from the same town as the Buddhist monk Ryôkan
There was a man named Junichi Akiyama who was born in Izumozaki.
He said he wanted to eat fugu globefish in Shimonoseki and I treated him to an unsophisticated meal prepared Western-style; he went off to eat it alone and came back in high spirits.
After resigning as president of the Kanto Special Steel Works, a subsidiary of Sumitomo, he founded a company that did extremely thin rolling of precious metals such as nickel and molybdenum. Saying it was in the national interest, he put up with losses and looked forward to the future.
He did a lot for me, saying it was a thank-you for the two years he suffered with stomach ulcers, and anyway he lived close by.
His little workshop that no one knew about was visited by Prince Takamatsunomiya.
The day will surely come when the faithful Akiyama will be rewarded.
（From Sumitomo Kaisoki, (a memoir of the Sumitomo years), by Jun Kawada)
Junichi
Akiyama
Founding
President
Shigeo
Akiyama
Second
President
Seiji
Nohara
Third
President
Yoshio
Komuro
Current
President
Nov.1947
The founder Junichi Akiyama (Founding president of Kanto Special Steel Works) established Rikagakuzairyo Co., Ltd., in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, opening a laboratory glassware workshop in the Fujisawa premises of Tokyo Gas and a metal rolling workshop in Oi-Samezu Town, Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo.
Aug.1951
The President of the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation, the late Prince Takamatsunomiya visited the metal rolling workshop and observed the foil rolling process.
Oct.1951
Akiyama presented his theory of foil rolling processing at the autumn meeting of the Institute of Metals and Materials, and on the recommendation of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry exhibited foil products at the World Metallurgical Congress held in Detroit, USA.
May.1955
Production of FRD (Fuso Japan metal Rikagakuzairyo joint development material Duralumin) diaphragms for audio equipment, adopted by Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Co., Ltd (now Sony)
May.1959
Completion of main factory at present location, 1810-7 Shimonumabe, Nakahara Ward, Kawasaki City
Feb.1965
Contract to produce metal foils for the USA
Aug.1971
Contract to produce metal foils for West Germany
Jan.1975
Shigeo Akiyama was inaugurated as President and CEO
Nov1979
Titanium etc., rolled to a thickness of 0.003mm (= 3μm)
Jul.1984
Remodelling of main factory completed, new installation of cold reversing 20-Hi rolling mill (product guaranteed thickness 0.003mm = 3μm) manufactured by Sundwig Co., Germany
Mar.1986
Manufacture and sale of titanium coiled foil with a thickness down to 0.001mm (= 1μm), from the 20-Hi rolling mill
Sep.1987
On the 40th anniversary of the company’s founding Rikagakuzairyo Co., Ltd., was renamed RIKAZAI.
Jun.1995
Seiji Nohara was inaugurated as President and CEO
Apr.1996
Office work was streamlined with the introduction of computers and accounting software
Jul.2000
Connection to network, start of electronic ordering and order receipt
May.2003
Accredited as a Green Partner by Sony Corporation
Dec.2004
Accredited for Green Procurement by Canon Group
Jul.2005
Yoshio Komuro was inaugurated as Representative Director
Oct.2005
ISO14001（2004）certification
May.2016
Completion of new building, start of business
Sep.2017
Accredited as a Green Partner by Nikon Corporation
Jan.2018
Accredited as a Kawasaki City Monozukuri Brand
Feb.2019
Awarded both the KIP Prize and the KNBC Prize at the Kanagawa Business Audition
Oct.2019
Held a mascot-character competition in an industry-academia collaboration with Nihon Kogakuin
Nov.2019
First solo exhibition at COMPAMED 2019 (International exhibition of medical device technology and components) in Germany
Jan.2020
Received the 2019 Kanagawa Prefecture Excellent Factory Award
Oct. 2020
Registration as a Kanagawa SDGs Partner (4th term)
Nov. 2020
Introduction of teleworking (from home) / establishment of teleworking regulations
Nov. 2020
Construction of wireless LAN in the factory in our headquarter
Dec. 2020
Start of our new website and our online store
Apr. 2021
Feb.2022
Certification as "1st Kawasaki SDGs Gold Partner"
Kawasaki City Award for Businesses Promoting Workplace Reform and Productivity Improvement
Aug. 2023
Opening of the Tohoku Office
The late Prince Takamatsunomiya
visited the metal rolling workshop.
Musashikosugi factory
of Rikagakuzairyo Co., Ltd.
Received the 2019 Kanagawa
Prefecture Excellent Factory Award
Kawasaki City Award for Businesses Promoting Workplace Reform and Productivity Improvement
Tohoku Office Open（Aug. 2023）