Furuno
Encyclopedia
The Furuno Electric Company (古野電気株式会社) was founded in Nagasaki
, Japan in 1938. The company sells marine electronics and has subsidiaries in the USA, Europe and China.
. It established FURUNO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD. in Nagasaki. The company began manufacturing and selling fish finders.
1952 Developed radio communication equipment for fishery
1955 Established FURUNO ELECTRIC CO., LTD. by taking over operations from FURUNO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD. (Capitalized at 8 million yen)
1958 Developed a numeric display type LORAN (long-range navigation) receiver
1959 Developed radar for vessels
1964 Relocated headquarters from Nagasaki to Nishinomiya Factory in Hyogo prefecture
.
1966 Developed telesounder
1967 Developed full automatic sonar, facsimile receiver and direction finder
1968 Developed LORAN receiver for aircraft
1972 Received NMEA's fiscal 1971 Best Product Award
Developed Japan's first Doppler Sonar
1973 Developed autopilot system, satellite positioning equipment and simple radio telephone
1974 Developed radio navigation system and full-circle scanning sonar
Developed gyrocompass
Established FURUNO NORGE A/S in Norway
1976 Developed ultra-compact radar and half-circle scanning sonar
1978 Established FURUNO U.S.A., INC. in the U.S.
1979 Completed Miki Factory
Established FURUNO (UK) LTD. in the U.K.
1981 Developed scientific sounder
1982 Listed on the Second Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange
1983 Increased capital to 6,200 million yen
1984 Moved to the First Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange
Developed facsimile receiver and bottom mapping system
Acquired management control of KYORITSU RADIO CO., LTD. and KYORITSU RADIO SERVICE CO., LTD.
1985 Developed marine radar, color net recorder, bottom sonar, ARPA
1986 Developed the world's first bird radar
Developed GPS navigation system
1987 Developed fishery monitoring radar, automated bonito pole-and-line fishing system Developed the world's first video LORAN
Established FURUNO DANMARK A/S in Denmark
Established FURUNO SVERIGE AB in Sweden
1989 Completed FURUNO INT Center
Increased capital to 7,535 million yen
Launched Spirit of Furuno 21, a fishing boat-type testing vessel
Established FURUNO FRANCE S.A. in France
1991 Developed wireless marine horn, radar for fishery and digital mapping system
1992 Developed kinematic GPS and GPS for aircraft
Established FURUNO ESPANA, S.A. in Spain
1993 Succeeded in commercializing teleterminal DGPS
1994 Developed Golf Distance Meter and Integrated Navigation Display
1995 Developed integrated bridge system, GPS time server
1998 Developed radar plotter-fish finder combo
`1997 Developed new Terrain Remote Monitoring System
2001 Developed NavNet Series
2002 Developed Automatic Identification System
(AIS) and Voyage Data Recorder (VDR)
Developed Fully automated Clinical Chemistry Analyzer
Established FURUNO NAVINTRA OY (now FURUNO FINLAND OY) after acquiring
Finnish company NAVINTRA
Began in-house production of pulse magnetron
2003 Developed GPS-steered Time & Frequency Generator
Began in-house sales of ETCs
Won a long-term supply contract for the NavNet series of network-compatible navigational equipment from the US Coast Guard
Established FURUNO SOFTECH (DALIAN) CO., LTD. in Dalian, China
2004 Developed the Tanken-Maru system, a fish finder for recreational fishing boats
Completed the world's largest test tank at the Miki Factory
Began joint development of DNA microarray synthesizers with U.S. company CombiMatrix Corporation
Established FURUNO POLSKA Sp. z o. o. in Poland
Opened the FURUNO European Distribution Centre (FEDC) in the Netherlands
Launched PEGASUS, a test vessel for a pleasure boat market
2005 Developed the world's first dual-frequency searchlight sonar
Opened FURUNO DONG GUAN FACTORY in China
Established FURUNO DEUTSCHLAND GmbH in Germany
Established FURUNO EURUS LLC in Russian Federation
Established the FURUNO INS Training Center (INSTC) in Copenhagen, Denmark, to train crew members of commercial vessels how to operate Integrated Navigation System
2006 Developed the high-performance 12.1-inch multi-color LCD radar FR-8002 series
Developed FCV-620, a fish finder with a 5.6-inch LCD for the pleasure boat market
Purchased a 49% stake in French company SIGNET S.A. and convertible bonds
Established FURUNO EUROPE B.V. as a local subsidiary in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Developed S-VDR (Simplified Voyage Data Recorder) VR-3000S
Developed Ultra sensitive GPS receiver for mobile communication device market
2007 Developed AIS (Automatic Identification System) receiver FA-30 for fishing vessels and recreational boats
Established FURUNO SHANGHAI CO., LTD. in China
2009 Acquired San Francisco based eRide, inc. a fabless semiconductor company
making GPS chipsets.
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
, Japan in 1938. The company sells marine electronics and has subsidiaries in the USA, Europe and China.
1940s
1948 The company commercialized the world's first practical fish finderFish finder
Fish finder may refer to:* an identification key used by fishers to identify the species of a caught fish; also known as a fish identifier....
. It established FURUNO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD. in Nagasaki. The company began manufacturing and selling fish finders.
1950s
1951 Established SUISAN ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, CO.,LTD1952 Developed radio communication equipment for fishery
1955 Established FURUNO ELECTRIC CO., LTD. by taking over operations from FURUNO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD. (Capitalized at 8 million yen)
1958 Developed a numeric display type LORAN (long-range navigation) receiver
1959 Developed radar for vessels
1960s
1961 Developed the world's first net sonde. Capital increased to 120 million yen1964 Relocated headquarters from Nagasaki to Nishinomiya Factory in Hyogo prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
.
1966 Developed telesounder
1967 Developed full automatic sonar, facsimile receiver and direction finder
1968 Developed LORAN receiver for aircraft
1970s
1971 Developed the Omega receiver1972 Received NMEA's fiscal 1971 Best Product Award
Developed Japan's first Doppler Sonar
1973 Developed autopilot system, satellite positioning equipment and simple radio telephone
1974 Developed radio navigation system and full-circle scanning sonar
Developed gyrocompass
Established FURUNO NORGE A/S in Norway
1976 Developed ultra-compact radar and half-circle scanning sonar
1978 Established FURUNO U.S.A., INC. in the U.S.
1979 Completed Miki Factory
Established FURUNO (UK) LTD. in the U.K.
1980s
1980 Developed the world's first current indicator, VideoPlotter and compact facsimile receiver1981 Developed scientific sounder
1982 Listed on the Second Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange
1983 Increased capital to 6,200 million yen
1984 Moved to the First Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange
Developed facsimile receiver and bottom mapping system
Acquired management control of KYORITSU RADIO CO., LTD. and KYORITSU RADIO SERVICE CO., LTD.
1985 Developed marine radar, color net recorder, bottom sonar, ARPA
1986 Developed the world's first bird radar
Developed GPS navigation system
1987 Developed fishery monitoring radar, automated bonito pole-and-line fishing system Developed the world's first video LORAN
LORAN
LORAN is a terrestrial radio navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters in multiple deployment to determine the location and speed of the receiver....
Established FURUNO DANMARK A/S in Denmark
Established FURUNO SVERIGE AB in Sweden
1989 Completed FURUNO INT Center
1990s
1990 Developed equipment for the research submersible SHINKAI 6500 systemIncreased capital to 7,535 million yen
Launched Spirit of Furuno 21, a fishing boat-type testing vessel
Established FURUNO FRANCE S.A. in France
1991 Developed wireless marine horn, radar for fishery and digital mapping system
1992 Developed kinematic GPS and GPS for aircraft
Established FURUNO ESPANA, S.A. in Spain
1993 Succeeded in commercializing teleterminal DGPS
1994 Developed Golf Distance Meter and Integrated Navigation Display
1995 Developed integrated bridge system, GPS time server
1998 Developed radar plotter-fish finder combo
`1997 Developed new Terrain Remote Monitoring System
2000s
2000 Developed satellite compass2001 Developed NavNet Series
2002 Developed Automatic Identification System
Automatic Identification System
The Automatic Identification System is an automatic tracking system used on ships and by Vessel traffic services for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships and AIS Base stations...
(AIS) and Voyage Data Recorder (VDR)
Developed Fully automated Clinical Chemistry Analyzer
Established FURUNO NAVINTRA OY (now FURUNO FINLAND OY) after acquiring
Finnish company NAVINTRA
Began in-house production of pulse magnetron
2003 Developed GPS-steered Time & Frequency Generator
Began in-house sales of ETCs
Won a long-term supply contract for the NavNet series of network-compatible navigational equipment from the US Coast Guard
Established FURUNO SOFTECH (DALIAN) CO., LTD. in Dalian, China
2004 Developed the Tanken-Maru system, a fish finder for recreational fishing boats
Completed the world's largest test tank at the Miki Factory
Began joint development of DNA microarray synthesizers with U.S. company CombiMatrix Corporation
Established FURUNO POLSKA Sp. z o. o. in Poland
Opened the FURUNO European Distribution Centre (FEDC) in the Netherlands
Launched PEGASUS, a test vessel for a pleasure boat market
2005 Developed the world's first dual-frequency searchlight sonar
Opened FURUNO DONG GUAN FACTORY in China
Established FURUNO DEUTSCHLAND GmbH in Germany
Established FURUNO EURUS LLC in Russian Federation
Established the FURUNO INS Training Center (INSTC) in Copenhagen, Denmark, to train crew members of commercial vessels how to operate Integrated Navigation System
2006 Developed the high-performance 12.1-inch multi-color LCD radar FR-8002 series
Developed FCV-620, a fish finder with a 5.6-inch LCD for the pleasure boat market
Purchased a 49% stake in French company SIGNET S.A. and convertible bonds
Established FURUNO EUROPE B.V. as a local subsidiary in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Developed S-VDR (Simplified Voyage Data Recorder) VR-3000S
Developed Ultra sensitive GPS receiver for mobile communication device market
2007 Developed AIS (Automatic Identification System) receiver FA-30 for fishing vessels and recreational boats
Established FURUNO SHANGHAI CO., LTD. in China
2009 Acquired San Francisco based eRide, inc. a fabless semiconductor company
Fabless semiconductor company
A fabless semiconductor company specializes in the design and sale of hardware devices and semiconductor chips while outsourcing the fabrication or "fab" of the devices to a specialized manufacturer called a semiconductor foundry...
making GPS chipsets.