The History of Nissin Manufacturing – Part 1

In 1960, Nissin imported the first honing machine. Manufactured overseas, the machine was a fully manual, horizontal one that was imported by a trading company in Osaka. Priced at 300,000 yen, the machine was significantly more expensive than the other tools that Nissin used, but Nissin decided to install it to improve accuracy.

However, Nissin was not satisfied with the machine’s performance, as the degree of accuracy that could be achieved depended greatly on the skill of the operator. This made the machine development team decide to build their own manually-operated horizontal honing machine based on the one they had imported.

In those days, orders for parts were skyrocketing, and over 30 employees performed honing. However, these employees worked in punishing conditions that could only be described as demanding, dirty, and dangerous. It was in the hope of improving these conditions that Nissin developed its own honing machine, its main objectives being to do away with arduous tasks, enable anyone to perform accuracy adjustments, and establish the capability to deliver even higher levels of accuracy. After steady research and effort, Nissin’s engineers came up with their own vertical double-spindle honing machine. The machine went on to undergo several rounds of modifications as Nissin’s engineers evaluated its performance.

In fact, this vertical honing machine, which was developed by Nissin to solve an internal challenge, evolved into the ‘third pillar’ of the company: the first being the sewing machine components Nissin manufactured initially, and the second being automotive components. Based on its many years of experience with the machine designed and built exclusively for its own use, in November 1972 Nissin developed its first commercial honing machine, which released for outside in 1973. The first customer for this auspicious first machine was an Osaka-based manufacturer of sewing machine parts. Titled the “130”, the model was known affectionately in the industry as a ‘mini-holer’. Users liked the machine, which they said was better than manual honing machines because it was safer and less labor-intensive to operate. This led Nissin honing machines to become well-known in the market as precision bore finishing machines.

This year marks exactly 50 years since Nissin’s vertical honing machine went on sale. In future, Nissin will continue to strive to provide the useful honing solutions that its customers expect.