OHARA INC.

History of OHARA

As a pioneer in the development of the optical glass industry from its foundation to the present, we have supported the foundation of the optical industry. We will introduce the history that OHARA has taken so far by age group.

As a pioneer in the development of the optical glass industry from its foundation to the present, we have supported the foundation of the optical industry. We will introduce the history that OHARA has taken so far by age group.

1930s～1960s

Founder Jinpachi Ohara
Founder Jinpachi Ohara
Optical Glass Melting started
Optical Glass Melting started
Founded Ohara Optical Glass
Founded Ohara Optical Glass
OHARA glass was used in the Apollo 11 mission.
OHARA glass was used in the Apollo 11 mission.
1935Oct. Established OHARA Optical Glass Mfg. Co., Ltd. (now OHARA INC.) in Kamata, Tokyo by Jinpachi Ohara
1936Nov. Optical Glass Melting started
1944Feb. Reorganized as a Joint-Stock Company
1944Mar. Sagamihara factory construction started
1946Mar. Head office relocated to Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture
1954May Platinum Pot Melting started
1958Oct. Production of Lanthanum Glass started
1959Nov. Appointed Chicago Aerial Industries(CAI) as an export agency
1961Jan. Production of Strip Glass by Continuous Melting Method started
1962Oct. Acquisition of stock of Ashigara Optical Incorporated(Kaisei-cho, Ashigara Kami Gun,Kanagawa)
1965Oct. Continuous Melting and Direct Pressing Production Method started
1967Jan. CAI was mergedinto bourns Inc. Bourns optical Glass was appointed as a distributor in U.S.A and Europe.
1969Jul. OHARA Glass reached the moon (Apollo 11).

1970s〜1980s

Creation of Clay Pot Melting
Creation of Clay Pot Melting
Introduction of Automatic Press Machine
Introduction of Automatic Press Machine
1975Aug. Production of Low Refractive Index – Low Dispersion Glass “FK01″（S-FPL51）started
1976May Production of Glass Beads started
1979Feb.
May		 Direct Pressing with Lanthanum Glasses started
Production of Penta Prism by Direct Pressing started
1981Aug. Established Ohara Optical Glass Inc. (now Ohara Corporation (USA))
1982Mar. OHARA Glass flew into the universe with Space-Shuttle “Columbia”
1983Mar. Volume Production of High Homogeneity Glasses started (±0.5∼±1.0X10-6)
1984Mar. Began Supplying “Cherenkov glass” to National Laboratory for High-Energy Physics.
1985May. New Company Name “OHARA INC. ” introduced
1987Jan.
Mar.
May.		 TAIWAN-OHARA OPTICAL CO., LTD. (Taiwan) was established
Production of High UV (365nm) Transmittance Glass started
Established OHARA Precision Corporation (Japan) (now OPC Corporation)
1988Jun.
Aug.		 Volume Production of Aspherical Molded Lens Blanks started
Production of “Glass -Ceramics” started
1989Sep. Introduction of 18″ Interferometer (Zygo Mark IV)

1990s

Production of Eco-Optical Glass started
Production of “Eco-Optical Glass” started
Production of Ultra Low Expansion Glass started
Started production of “Ultralow expansion glass-ceramics (CLEARCERAM™-Z)”
1990Jan.
Oct.		 OHARA GmbH (Germany) was established
New Glass Type Desination System started
1991Sep.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.		 Production of “Eco-Optical Glass” started
Production of “Crystallized Beads” started
OHARA OPTICAL(M)SDN. BHD. (Malaysia) was established
Introduction of Super Precision Spectrometer
1992Jan.
Mar.		 T.Q.C.(Total Quality control) was introduced
OHARA Measurement Service started
1993Mar.
Jun.		 Started production of “Ultralow expansion glass-ceramics (CLEARCERAM™-Z)”
Production of “Fine Gob (FG) for precision glass molding” started
1994Nov. Production of Glass Ceramics for Hard Disk Substrates started
1995Nov. Starting of ACTIVE-21 movement
1996May.
Oct.		 OHARA DISK(M)SDN. BHD. (Malaysia) was established
OHARA Hard Disk Division was ISO9002 Qualified
1997Mar.
Jun.
Oct.		 All 112 Recommended Glass Types were switched to Eco-Glasses
Production of “Glass Disk for Flying Height Tester (GD-FHT™) ” started
Optical Glass Div. and Special Glass Div. were ISO9002 Qualified
1998April.
Oct.		 All OHARA Products got ISO9001 Qualified
Production of “Light High Refractive Index Eye-Glass ” started
1999Jan.
Jul.		 Installed OHARA Glass in Suprime-Cam in Subaru telescope.
Production of “Glass Substrates for DWDM ” started

2000s

Listed on First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange
Listed on First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange
2000Jan.
April.
Oct.		 Production of “Low Photoelastic Glass” started
ISO14001 was qualified
Measurement service for refractive indices at Vacuum UV region started
2001Nov. UNIQUE OHARA OPTICAL CO., LTD. (China) was established
2002May.
Jun.
Dec.		 Established OHARA OPTICAL (HONG KONG) LTD.
Large-scale Continuous Melting started
OHARA OPTICAL (ZHONGSHAN) LTD. (China) was established
2004Nov. “Production Renovation” was introduced
2005Oct. Listed on First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange
2006Jul.
Nov.		 Became a member of “Nippon Keidanren,” Japan Business Federation
Production of “Eco-Glasses for optical fiber (for endoscope)” started
2007Jan.
Feb.
May.
Sep.		 Headquarters building completed
Production of “Low- fluorescence Glasses (for microscope)” started
2-for-1 stock split
Installed CLEARCERAM™-Z in the Lunar Orbiter “KAGUYA (SELENE)”
2008Mar.
Jul.		 Acquired own shares
Converted Ohara Quartz Co., Ltd. to a consolidated subsidiary.

2010s

Sales of “Lithium-ion Conductive Glass-ceramics (LICGC™)” began
Sales of “Lithium-ion Conductive Glass-ceramics (LICGC™)” began
Sales of Shock Resistance and High Hardness Clear Glass-ceramics NANOCERAM™ began
Sales of Shock Resistance and High Hardness Clear Glass-ceramics NANOCERAM™ began

NANOCERAM™ was adopted as a camera protector for the micro-optical satellite “KITSUNE.”
NANOCERAM™ was adopted as a camera protector for the micro-optical satellite “KITSUNE.”
2011Mar. NHG-OHARA OPTICS(XIANGYANG)CO.,LTD.(China) was established
2012Mar.
Aug.		 Taiwan Ohara Optical Material Co., Ltd.(Taiwan) was established
OHARA Glass was Installed in Hyper Suprime-Cam in Subaru telescope.
2013May. Sales of “Lithium-ion Conductive Glass-ceramics (LICGC™)” began
2014Feb.
Mar.
Dec.		 Withdrew from the business of glass-ceramics for HDDs, the Group.
“Ultra Low Expansion Glass-ceramics (CLEARCERAM™-Z)” was adopted in the TMT astronomical telescope.
OHARA Glass was adopted in the Hayabusa2 deployable camera (DCAM).
2015Mar.
Oct.
Dec.		 Mass Production and Supply of “Aspherical Glass Mold Lenses” began
80th anniversary of OHARA’s foundation.
Sales of Shock Resistance and High Hardness Clear Glass-ceramics NANOCERAM™ began
Non-Browning Optical Glass was released.
Launched LICGC™SP-01.
2016Jan.

Aug.		 “Shock Resistant and High Hardness Clear Glass-ceramics (NANOCERAM™)” has been used as high-grade filters “WR CERAMIC PROTECTOR” for interchangeable lenses.
Activated a solid-state battery prototype using LICGC™ at -30°C.
2017May
Dec.		 Launched an optical glass material dedicated to automotive cameras.
“Ultra Low Expansion Glass-ceramics (CLEARCERAM™-Z)” was adopted to the Super Low Altitude Test Satellite “Tsubame” (SLATS).
2018Jun.

Sep.		 Participation in NEDO project advanced/innovative storage battery material evaluation technology development (2nd term)
Operations of new “Aspherical Glass Mold Lenses” factory began
2019Feb. “Ultra Low Expansion Glass-ceramics (CLEARCERAM™-Z)” was adopted in Japan’s largest telescope Seimei.
Launched LICGC™PW-01.
2020Mar.
Nov.		 Confirmed that LICGC™PW-01 is effective in improving the life of lithium-ion batteries.
Opened OHARA INC. Oita Sales Office.
2021Sep. OHARA Optical Glass was adopted in NASA’s Mars rover “Perseverance.”
2022Mar. NANOCERAM™ was adopted as a camera protector for the micro-optical satellite “KITSUNE.”
2023Sep. NANOCERAM™ was adopted as a high-strength screen protector for docomo select smartphones.
2024Jun. The company’s optical glass was adopted in the small lunar landing demonstration vehicle “SLIM.”
2025Jun. LICGC™SP-01 was used in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology’s hygroelectric cell.

OTHER CONTENTS

Related information can be viewed by following the links below.
The things we focus on in manufacturing are explained.