Heiwa Corporation
Japanese manufacturer of pachinko and slot machines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Heiwa Corporation (Japanese: 株式会社平和, Hepburn: Kabushiki Gaisha Heiwa) is a privately owned Japanese manufacturer of pachinko and pachislot machines established in Kiryū, Gunma in 1949.[2] It is one of the world's largest maker of pachinko machines.[3]
| Heiwa Corporation | |
|---|---|
 | |
Native name | 株式会社平和 |
Romanized name | Kabushiki Gaisha Heiwa |
| Type | Public (K.K.) |
| TYO: 6412 | |
| Industry | Gambling machine manufacturing |
| Genre | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1949 September 9, 1960 (incorporated) |
| Founder | Kenkichi Nakajima |
| Headquarters | , |
| Key people |
|
| Products | Pachinko and Pachislot machines |
| Revenue | ¥ 1.675 billion[1] |
Number of employees | 821 (as of March 31, 2014)[1] |
| Subsidiaries | PGM Holdings Olympia AmTechs |
| Website | www |
History
Born in Korea, Kenkichi Nakajima, then a student, came to Japan in 1937 and worked in a defense factory during World War II.[4][3] In 1949, he established Heiwa ('peace') as he wanted to produce goods unrelated to war;[3] it was, however, only officially incorporated on September 9, 1960.[5] In 1988, it became the first over-the-counter company in the pachinko industry. It entered the Tokyo Stock Exchange on the Second Section in 1991 and moved to the First Section in 1997.[2] In 1998, Heiwa acquired Olympia, another pachinko manufacturer, and turned it into a subsidiary company.[6] Heiwa became the first company in its segment to have an ISO9001 in 2000.[2] In 2004, it founded the subsidiary company PGM Holdings, a golf course operator.[5][7]