PENTAX® Medical products History

1919 Asahi Optical Joint Stock Co. established
1938 Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. established
1955 Asahi Optical Corporation (Merge with PENTAX® Corporation in April,2005) established
1962
PENTAX® Europe n.v. established in Belgium as a base of operations in Europe
1967
Opening of a unique facility in Tokyo featuring the Asahi PENTAX® Gallery and the first camera museum to be established by a Japanese manufacturer (moved to Mashiko Plant in 1993)
1968
Mashiko Plant in Tochigi established
1971
Listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
1972
Listed in the CDR market of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange Launch of "SMC PENTAX® Lens for Eyeglasses", marking PENTAX® entry in the eyeglasses market
1973
Asahi Optical International (current name: PENTAX® Hong Kong) established in Hong Kong, marking the establishment of PENTAX®'s first overseas manufacturing center Launch of "Photoplotter" automatic drafting system, marking PENTAX® entry in the information technology market
1975
Asahi Optical Taiwan, manufacturing plant (current name: PENTAX® Taiwan), established in Taiwan
1976
PENTAX® Corporation (current name: PENTAX® U.S.A.) established as the marketing headquarters for the U.S. market
1977
Launch of Bronchiofiberscope "FB-17A", marking PENTAX® entry in the medical equipment market PENTAX® Handelsellschaft (current name: PENTAX® Europe GmbH) established in Germany Launch of "PENTAX® CAD System", marking PENTAX® entry in the industrial equipment market
 
1978
PENTAX® Canada Inc. (marketing and sales office) established in Canada
 
1979
PENTAX® Precision Instrument Corporation established in U.S.A. to market medical equipment PENTAX® U.K. established in U.K.
 
1982
PENTAX® Schweiz, PENTAX® Scandinavia, and PENTAX® Nederland established in Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands, respectively
1983
Launch of "Apaceram" artificial tooth root, marking PENTAX® entry in the new ceramics market
1985
PENTAX® Vision Inc. established in U.S.A. to market eyeglass products in the U.S. market PENTAX® Technology established in U.S.A. to market information/telecommunications devices in the U.S. market Launch of "Apatite", Japan's first synthetic bone filler
1988
Launch of "easy-to-fabricate" synthetic human bone material Development and exhibition of prototype electronic still video camera with audio recording function at "'88 Photokina"
1992
Eyeglass lens manufacturing plant and Asahi Optical Cavite Philippines (current name: PENTAX® Luzon Philippines) established
1994
Development of diffraction/aberration-compensated objective lenses for magneto-optical disks
1995
Optical device manufacturing plant and PENTAX® VN established in Vietnam
2000
Development and commercialization of the world's first diffraction-type DVD/CD-compatible hybrid lens
2002
Corporate name changed from Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. to PENTAX® Corporation