is a Japanese
multinational electronics
The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
corporation that manufactures
electronic component
An electronic component is any basic discrete device or physical entity in an electronic system used to affect electrons or their associated fields. Electronic components are mostly industrial products, available in a singular form and are not ...
s and recording and
data-storage media. Its motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity".
"TDK" is an initialism of the original Japanese name of the company: Tokyo Denki Kagaku Kōgyō K.K. (Tokyo Electric Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.). The company is listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...
and is a constituent of the
Nikkei 225
The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' (''The Nikkei'') newspaper since 1950 ...
and
TOPIX
, commonly known as TOPIX, along with the Nikkei 225, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, tracking all domestic companies of the exchange's Prime market division. It is calculated and published by the ...
indices.
History
![Compactcassette](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Compactcassette.jpg)
TDK was founded by Kenzo Saito in Tokyo, Japan, on 7 December 1935 to manufacture the
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
-based magnetic material
ferrite, which had been recently invented by Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei. In 1952 and 1957, they began to produce magnetic tape, with
compact cassette tapes following in 1966. TDK manufactured an extensive portfolio of magnetic and optical media, including several formats of
videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...
and blank
CD-R
CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times.
CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the i ...
and
recordable DVD discs until the recording business was sold to
Imation in 2007.
TDK produced five million ferrite cores through 1945 that were primarily used to reduce the volume and weight of radio receivers used by the Imperial Japanese military.
Operations in the US began in 1965 with a New York City office,
and European operations began in 1970 with an office in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
In 1980, TDK developed a multilayering technology to create chip capacitors and inductors used in personal computers, laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices.
In 1986, TDK acquired SAE Magnetics and introduced high-density recording heads.
In the 1990s, TDK's Mass Storage Division included
brushless DC spindle motors,
magnetoresistance
Magnetoresistance is the tendency of a material (often ferromagnetic) to change the value of its electrical resistance in an externally-applied magnetic field. There are a variety of effects that can be called magnetoresistance. Some occur in b ...
(MR) heads and thin-film heads.
Since 1997, TDK has gradually withdrawn from the production of compact cassettes. First with the MA-X and AR ("Acoustic Response"), then the AD ("Acoustic Dynamic") and SA-X line in 2001 and 2002 respectively, then the MA ("Metal Alloy") line in 2004. The SA ("Super Avilyn") and D ("Dynamic") lines were withdrawn in 2011. Industry trends see the company moving into new forms of media. In 2004 TDK was the first media manufacturer to join the companies developing
BD post-
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
technology.
TDK operated a
semiconductor division in California for about a decade, but divested it in 2005.
In late 2007,
Imation acquired marketing and sales operations for TDK brand recording media, including flash media, optical media, magnetic tape, and accessories, for $300 million.
This also included a license to use the "TDK Life on Record" brand on data storage and audio products for 25 years.
In September 2015, Imation announced that it had agreed to relinquish this license and would cease selling TDK-branded products by the end of the year.
Since the 2000s, TDK has focussed on the development, manufacture and sales of electronic components, HDD heads and suspension, and power supplies.
Beginning in 2005, TDK has acquired many types of electronic device manufacturers including passive component developers, sensors manufacturers and power supply companies. These areas remain TDK's focus today.
Since acquiring numerous companies and sharpening its product line focus in recent years, TDK has begun building a portfolio of varying sensors, actuators and power electronic components through these brands. These include multi-axis MEMS motion tracking devices and MEMS microphones from InvenSense, a point-of-load DC-DC converter from Faraday Semi, and MEMS-based ultrasonic Time-of-Flight sensors from Chirp Microsystems intended for consumer electronics, AR/VR, robotics, drones, IoT, automotive and industrial market segments. Other areas of TDK's recent focus include power components for mobile devices, high-stability MEMS accelerometers from Tronics, and miniaturized haptic actuators.
Since 2016, Shigenao Ishiguro has been President and CEO of TDK.
In 2017, TDK and
GenCell began collaborating to develop and produce an
ammonia-based fuel solution.
Key acquisitions and joint ventures
*1986: SAE Magnetics (H.K.) Ltd., a magnetic head maker based in Hong Kong
*2000: Headway Technologies, a magnetic head maker based in the United States
*2005: Amperex Technology Limited, a Lithium Polymer battery company based in Hong Kong
*2005: Lambda Power Division, a group of power supply businesses of London-based Invensys PLC.
*2008:
Epcos
TDK Electronics AG is a German manufacturer of electronic components, modules and systems. It is a subsidiary of Japan-based TDK Corporation.
Company history
The company was created as EPCOS AG in 1999 from Siemens Matsushita Components, which w ...
, an electronic device manufacturer based in Germany
*2016: Hutchinson Technology Inc., a manufacturer of HDD suspension assemblies based in the United States
*2017: RF360 Holdings Singapore PTE Ltd. – a joint venture with
Qualcomm Inc. (USA)
*2017: ICsense NV, a mixed-signal ASIC design & supply company based in Belgium
*2017: InvenSense, Inc., a sensor specialist based in the United States
*2018: Chirp Microsystems, a developer of low power, ultrasonic 3D-sensing solutions based in the United States
*2018: Faraday Semi LLC, a developer of miniature Point of Load (PoL) solutions based in the United States
Sponsorship and advertising
![Close up of TDK sign at Piccadilly Circus January 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Close_up_of_TDK_sign_at_Piccadilly_Circus_January_2012.jpg)
TDK has sponsored the IAAF World Championships in Athletics since the 1983 inaugural event in Helsinki.
TDK sponsored
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
for several years in the 1980s during which it won
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
in
1987. From 1993 to 1999, TDK were also the sponsors of the English football club
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
, who were promoted to the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
twice during this era, though lasting for just one season before being relegated on both occasions. TDK was also a minor sponsor of the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
Rugby League Team during the early 1990s. It is a current sponsor of the
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
. It also sponsors activities and events such as those at The Cross
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
in
Central London, and it had a prominent sign at
Piccadilly Circus from 1990. The contract for this sign was terminated in 2015, as TDK was moving away from consumer electronics.
TDK has owned a sign on
One Times Square
One Times Square (also known as 1475 Broadway, the New York Times Building, the New York Times Tower, or simply as the Times Tower) is a 25-story, skyscraper on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by ...
since 2000. The screen is placed under that of
Toshiba
, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...
and can be seen during the annual Times Square New Year's
Ball Drop
The Times Square Ball is a time ball located in New York City's Times Square. Located on the roof of One Times Square, the ball is a prominent part of a New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square commonly referred to as the ball drop, where the ...
.
Since 2001, TDK has supported performances of some of the world's distinguished orchestras in Japan within the company's "TDK Orchestra Concerts" program. TDK's "Outreach-Mini Concerts" and "Special Rehearsals and Main Concert Invitations" additionally serve as avenues for the company to attract younger audiences.
TDK's own football club, based in
Nikaho,
Akita
is a Japanese name and may refer to:
Places
* 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid
* Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan
* Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan
* Akita, Kumamoto ...
, recently split from the corporation to become independent football club
Blaublitz Akita, with the aim for the professional leagues.
Museum
TDK operates a company museum in Nikaho, Akita, Japan. The museum is open to the public, free of charge. Among its exhibits are a comprehensive history of the company, its products and technologies, and emerging developments.
TDK products
TDK D60 1979.JPG, D60 audio cassette from 1979
TDK MA60 001.jpg, MA60 - 1990-92
TDK D C180 cassette.jpg, D-C180 - This three hour audio cassette was unusually long
File:VHS-C 02.JPG, VHS-C
VHS-C is the compact VHS videocassette format, introduced by Victor Company of Japan (JVC) in 1982, and used primarily for consumer-grade compact analog recording camcorders. The format is based on the same video tape as is used in VHS, and ...
video cassettes
TDK blank DVD.JPG, Blank DVD
Minidisk01.jpg, MiniDisc
MiniDisc (MD) is an erasable magneto-optical disc-based data storage format offering a capacity of 60, 74, and later, 80 minutes of digitized audio.
Sony announced the MiniDisc in September 1992 and released it in November of that year fo ...
TDK DC4-125 20051221.jpg, DDS-3 data cartridge
References
External links
*
Official Global WebsiteTDK US WebsiteTDK India WebsiteThe TDK history museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tdk
TDK
Engineering companies based in Tokyo
Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo
Electronics companies established in 1935
Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange
Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Electronics companies of Japan
Japanese brands
Video game companies of Japan
Defense companies of Japan
Capacitor manufacturers
Japanese companies established in 1935
1960s initial public offerings