Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

manufacturer of

electric lights An electric light, lamp, or light bulb is an electrical component that produces light. It is the most common form of artificial lighting. Lamps usually have a base made of ceramic, metal, glass, or plastic, which secures the lamp in the soc ...

. Stanley has 36 consolidated subsidiaries, three associated companies, 23 factories in eight countries, offices in 17 countries, and over 16,000 employees. The main customers for its core business, automotive lighting, are

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

and Nissan. Other customers using Stanley's products include

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

, Suzuki, Mitsubishi,

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and Chrysler. Stanley is listed in the

TOPIX , commonly known as TOPIX, along with the Nikkei 225, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, tracking all domestic companies of the exchange's Prime market division. It is calculated and published by the ...

of the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...

History

Initially Kitano Shokai (), the company was founded in 1920 by Takaharu Kitano. At the time, only about 8,000 cars were present in Japan, all of them imported. In 1933, the company became incorporated as a

kabushiki gaisha A or ''kabushiki kaisha'', commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK, is a type of defined under the Companies Act of Japan. The term is often translated as "stock company", " joint-stock company" or "stock corporation". The term ''kabushiki gaisha'' ...

and was renamed after explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who was famous for exploring Africa. As the company states, Kitano was impressed by Stanley's vision, courage and pioneering spirit. A branch in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

was established the following year. From 1943 to 1949, the company was known as Kitano Denki Kogyo Co., Ltd. . Stanley was first listed on the

in 1961. *1965: Start of silicon processing *1968: First international branch in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

*1968: First research center for lightning *1979: First branch in the USA (Stanley US) *1980: Development of colored liquid crystals *1984: Branch in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

*Until 2009: Many branches in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. Stanley and the German company

Hella ''Hella'' is an American slang term that originated in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is used as an intensifying adverb such as in "hella bad" or "hella good" and was eventually added to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' in 2002. It is possibl ...

founded a joint venture based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 2002.

Operations

Stanley's products include HID and LED headlights. Stanley developed the world's first LED high-mount stop lamp. Stanley also produces all types of automotive lighting, backlighted LED displays, camera flashes, automotive interior displays, sensors, light fixtures and streetlights, as used in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. In 2013, Stanley announced plans to concentrate more on the development of LED headlights and planned to raise the LED share from 1% to 20% by 2017.

Research and development

Stanley conducts research and development at 5 research centres in Japan, where new light technologies are explored, existing technologies are optimized, and new products are developed. One such research centre is located in

Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 244,528 in 108,669 households and a population density of 862 persons per km². The percentage of the population aged over 65 was 20.3%. The total ar ...

. Research results are regularly published in scientific journals.

Motorsport

Until March 2021, Stanley sold aftermarket products under the motorsport-inspired Raybrig brand, which also sponsored

Team Kunimitsu Team Kunimitsu is a racing team founded in 1992 by Kunimitsu Takahashi. The team has competed in the Super GT Series (formerly known as the All-Japan GT Championship) since 1994. In its early years, the team participated in the Japanese Touri ...

in Super GT. After Team Kunimitsu won the 2020 GT500 Championship, bringing an end to a 25-year sponsorship, Stanley itself replaced Raybrig as the team's main sponsor for 2021.

Social involvement

Founder Takaharu Kitano also established the Kitano Foundation of Lifelong Integrated Education in 1975, which awards scholarships to those who can not afford education. The foundation is active in Japan, China,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and other countries. Stanley is also the title sponsor of the Stanley Ladies Golf Tournament, a women's

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

series managed by the LPGA that also funds the construction of schools in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Event sponsorship

Stanley takes part in illumination events worldwide. At festivities marking 150 years of Japanese-German friendship, the Brandenburg Gate in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

was illuminated with LED flood lights in 2011. Stanley LED lights were installed outside the

Kabuki-za in Ginza is the principal theater in Tokyo for the traditional ''kabuki'' drama form. History The Kabuki-za was originally opened by a Meiji era journalist, Fukuchi Gen'ichirō. Fukuchi wrote kabuki dramas in which Ichikawa Danjūrō IX and ot ...

in Ginza before its reopening in 2013. Both lighting arrangements were conducted in cooperation with lighting artist Makoto Ishii.

References

External links

Kitano Foundation website

Stanley Ladies Golf Tournament website
{{Authority control Electronics companies of Japan Engineering companies based in Tokyo Automotive companies based in Tokyo Motorcycle parts manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Light-emitting diode manufacturers Auto parts suppliers of Japan Electronics companies established in 1920 Manufacturing companies established in 1920 Japanese companies established in 1920 Japanese brands