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Corporate History

Founders Hidejiro Naito Kanekichi Hayashi

Founded in 1920, Rinnai & Co. first manufactured and sold pressurized oil stoves. By the late 1920s it had already established itself as a trustworthy manufacturer of gas tabletop stoves, gas ovens, gas heaters, and gas hot-water units.

Corporate Development

1920 The company is incorporated as Rinnai & Co. by founders Hidejiro Naito and Kanekichi Hayashi.
1923 Deliveries of gas appliances, including tabletop stoves, ranges, gas ovens, and water heaters, to Japanese gas utilities nationwide, as well as exports, begin.
1938 Manufacturing of aircraft parts takes place with the factory coming under military supervision.
1940 The company changes its name to "Rinnai Aircraft Parts Manufacturing."
1947 Production of gas and kerosene appliances resumes at the rebuilt Head Office factory.
1950 The company is reorganized as a joint stock company and renamed Rinnai Seisakusho.
1954 The Tokyo Sales Office (now the Kanto Branch) opens.
1956 The Osaka Sales Office (now the Kansai Branch) opens.
1957 The Aichi Factory (now the Chubu Branch) opens.
The company forms a technology tie-up with German company Schwank GmbH to manufacture and sell gas infrared burners and to develop heaters and cooking appliances that use them.
1960 The lnba Factory (later the Asahi Factory) opens.
1961 The Fukuoka Sales Office (now the Kyushu Branch) opens.
1963 The Sendai Satelite Office (now the Tohoku Branch) and the Sapporo Satelite Office (now the Hokkaido Sales Office) open.
1964 The Oguchi Factory opens.
1967 The Technology Development Center opens.
1968 The Niigata Satelite Office (now the Niigata Sales Office) opens.
1969 The Nagoya Sales Office (now the Chubu Branch) opens.
1970 Rinnai Taiwan Corporation is established.
Business partnership with Yanagisawa Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Investment in Yamauchi Yoko (now RT Engineering Co., Ltd.)
1971 The name changes to Rinnai Corporation.
RB Controls Co., Ltd., and Rinnai Australia Pty. Ltd. are established.
1972 The company receives the Ota Award from the Japan Gas Association for its gas high-speed convection oven.
1973 Rinnai (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. is established.
1974 Rinnai Korea Corporation and Rinnai America Corporation are established.
1975 Rinnai New Zealand Ltd. and Equipamentos NGK-Rinnai Ltda. are established.
1976 Rinnai Industries (UK), Ltd. is established.
1979 The company is listed on the Second Section of the Nagoya Stock Exchange.
Rinnai Precision Co., Ltd. is established and the Seto Factory opens.
1981 Japan Ceramics Co., Ltd. is established.
Business partnership with lsomura Kiki (now Rinnai Technica Co., Ltd.)
1982 The company is listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
1983 The Hiroshima Satelite Office (now the Chugoku Sales Office) opens.
The company is listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Nagoya Stock Exchange.
1984 The Takamatsu Satelite Office (now the Shikoku Sales Office) opens.
1985 The company receives the Ota Prize from Japan Gas Association for development of a water boiler equipped with a safety mechanism to prevent incomplete combustion.
1986 The company receives the Excellent Technology Prize from the Japan Gas Association as well as the first Chunichi Industrial Technology Award for the development of an ultracompact water heater.
1988 P.T. Rinnai Indonesia is established.
The Hong Kong Representative Office opens.
1990 The Tsukuba Research Center (now Tsukuba Training Center) opens.
Rinnai (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and Noto Tech Co., Ltd. are established.
1991 Rinnai Singapore Pte. Ltd. is established.
1993 Shanghai Rinnai Co., Ltd. is established.
1994 The new Headquarters building is completed.
1995 The company receives ISO 9001 certification for all domestic factories.
1996 Rinnai Holdings (Pacific) Pte Ltd. is established in Singapore.
The company receives Testing Facility Acceptance from International Approval Services (IAS).
1998 Rinnai Hong Kong Ltd. and Rinnai Vietnam Co., Ltd. are established.
1999 Business partnership with Gastar Co., Ltd.
RG Co., Ltd. is established.
2000 The company receives the Ministry of International Trade and Industry's Energy Conservation Award for its highly efficient condensing gas water heaters.
2001 The company receives the Technology Prize from the Japan Gas Association for its highly efficient condensing gas water heaters.
2003 The company receives ISO 14001 certification for all domestic factories.
The company receives the Energy Conservation Grand Prize (Chairman's Prize) from the Energy Conservation Center for its glass-top stoves with inner flame burners.
2004 Guangzhou Rinnai Gas and Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. is established.
2005 The company receives the Technology Prize from the Japan Gas Association for its Eco-Jozu condensing dual water heater/space heaters.
2006 RBS Thermo Technology Co., Ltd. is established.
The company receives the Technology Prize from the Japan Gas Association for its bathroom heater/dryer with mist sauna function.
2008 Rinnai Italia S.r.l. is established, and the Integrated Logistics Center opens.
Rinnai gas tankless water heater receives the Super Nova Star Award (an energy-saving award) from the Alliance to Save Energy in the United States.
2009 Rinnai Canada Holdings Ltd. is established.
2010 The Production and Technology Development Center opens.
2011 The West Japan Customer Center opens.
2013 TheAkatsuki Factory opens.
The Rinnai Parts Center opens following business integration.
2014 The company receives the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Energy Conservation Award for ECO ONE, a hybrid water heater with heating system.
The company's hybrid water heater with heating system for Hokkaido receives the Kitaguni Energy Conservation and New Energy Grand Prize.
2015 Brivis Climate Systems Pty Ltd in Australia is acquired.
The Dubai Representative Office opens.
2016 Gastar Co., Ltd. becomes a consolidated subsidiary.
2018 The East Japan Logistics Center (now Atsugi Logistics Center) opens.
2019 Our brand promise is established, and the Rinnai logo is updated.
2021 Industrias MASS SA de CV in Mexico is acquired.