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Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries /
Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., Ltd.

This company, formerly called the Hirano Shipyard, was founded in 1876. World-renowned for generations as a shipbuilder, Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (IHI) is second in Japan only to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. IHI is involved in such high-tech industries as aerospace, energy, and material distribution.

In 1853 Lord Nariaki Tokugawa of Mito was appointed by the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate to build a shipyard on Ishikawajima. This island at the mouth of the Sumida River, which flows into Tokyo Bay was strategic for the coastal defense of Japan. The site was that of the old shipyard, where a sailing barque, the Asahi Maru, had been built in the late years of the Tokugawa Dynasty, by the Prince of Mito, one of the Shogun's family, and where also the first war steamer, the Chiyodagata, was built in 1861-05.

The works, at their commencement, built many wooden sailing ships, steamers not being so popular in those days. With the intention of impressing shipowners with the superiority of steamers over ordinary sailing ships, Mr. Hirano built about a dozen small steam tufrs (called the Tsu-kwai Maru) for sale or hire, and these were soon purchased by various shipowners. The shipyard had thus been gradually established, and in 1884 the Government Engine Works at Yokohama were purchased and incorporated with it. In 1885 the works were commissioned to build an iron gunboat of 615 tons displacement, the Chdkai, this being the first order entrusted to Japanese private builders. She was completed in 1885, and the works were then transferred to the present owners—the Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Company.

To meet the pressing demand for ship repairing, after the sudden expansion of the Japanese mercantile marine in 1894-95, a new graving dock was started by the Ishikawajima Company at the port of Uraga, and was completed in 1898, being provided with complete shipbuilding facilities. The principal vessel built in this yard was the Kotsu Maru, of 1 500 gross tons, launched in 1901. Since then, not much new work of importance has been done. The shipyard was finally amalgamated with the Uraga Dry Dock Company in 1902.

A new era for Ishikawajima--and the change to its current name--began in 1960 as the company merged with the 53-year-old Harima Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Ltd. A major shipyard known for its construction of large vessels, Harima had three subsidiaries of its own./p>

The modern IHI Aioi Works Complex is comprised of the (a) Aioi shipyard undertaking the building, rebuilding and repair of ships and construction of bridges and other steel structures (b) the Aioi Diesel Engine Works which also serves the entire IHI complex with its casting foundry and (c) the Aioi Boiler Works which produces land and marine boilers, pressure vessels and other plant components. These three facilities employed approximately 5000 persons in the early 1980s. Shipbuilding orders declined in the late 1980s.

Presently Japan's top manufacturer of jet engines, after 1989 the company concentrating on the expanding air- and space-related divisions. This continued its research and development, innovation, and expansion into new product lines which began after World War I. Despite the severe earthquake in 1923, in 1924, the Ishikawajima Airplane Manufacturing Company began operation. A major shift in production and marketing emphasis during the 1980s made heavy industry and plant technology the source of close to 70% of the company's income. Also strong is the company's aerospace division, which produces jet engines, and leads the industry in developing space rockets and experimental devices. The company acquired land in Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture, and completed the construction of Soma First Plant in 1998 and in 2006, a large-scaled second plant was built on an adjacent piece of land. Soon after, IHI quickly started procedures to transfer its heavy equipment from Tanashi,Tokyo to Soma City. IHI, anticipating the increasing demands for jet engines, decided to bring together in one area various industries from across the country.

In 1994 land was purchased in Soma City’s Industrial District, which was developed by Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation Japan. The influencing reasons to acquire land were first, Tanashi Plant’s 50-year-old building that could no longer sustain production demands, and the inability to expand within the urban area. Also, in order to build an innovative plant with high quality, internationally competitive and progressive products, the company needed a building structure that would uphold a significant superiority against rival companies. Furthermore, a hard look toward the future suggested that to support such global strategies, purchasing large land areas was considered indispensable. The company searched all over Japan for the best industrial development, and as a result, Soma City was chosen as the ideal location and a 230,000? area was acquired.