________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the 1930s , the Kato family established their initial business in Japan in the form of a humble spring factory in Edogawa-Ku , Tokyo . Kato Springworks , as it was known , steadily grew organically for the following three decades , until it was floated on the Japanese Stock Exchange in 1964 , paving the way for global expansion .
“ The 1970s saw KATO Spring , as it was known by then , establish its first locations in the United States of America and Singapore , as well as another large factory in Niigata , Japan ,” said Advanex Europe Sales and Commercial Director Neil Watson . “ However , the story here in Europe started in 1988 when the business founded KATO Precision in the UK .
Five years later , it acquired Senior Entex Ltd , which formed KATO Entex , and became the second of the two organisations which would eventually merge to create Advanex Europe , when the company changed its name from KATO to Advanex Group in 2010 .”
Throughout the noughties , the business expanded across Asia with three locations in China , as well as sites in Thailand , Vietnam , India , Indonesia , and Hong Kong . “ The real growth that led to the company ’ s global presence today , came from a strategy to localise plants to newly established electronics manufacturers around the world . That way , when Canon , for example , opened a new factory somewhere , we could be there as a local supplier of materials . This has always been a priority for the larger players , as shorter supply chains present lower costs and risk . It is this global capability and footprint which is now proving so attractive to customers in the Medical Device and Automotive markets . Over this period the group ’ s capability expanded to include wire forms , pressings , stampings , deep drawn and machined parts , complementing a comprehensive range of springs , this established Advanex as a major player in the supply of precision metallic components .”
58