Nifco's History

Nifco was founded in 1967, at a time when Japan was undergoing a period of rapid industrialization led by the automotive and home electronics industries. It was a competitive age of mass production when emphasis was placed on increasing manufacturing efficiency—especially that of the multifarious automobile and home electronic appliance production lines. Nifco turned its attention early on to devising ways to reduce labor and manpower in the manufacturing process and became the first company to introduce plastic as an alternative to metal for use as fasteners.

Nifco fasteners make full use of the superior characteristics of plastic: lightweight, rustproof and highly moldable. Although small in size, Nifco fasteners have made a major contribution to the automobile and home electronic production processes and brought about a "Fastening Revolution" in Japan. Nifco was listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange only twelve years after its founding, and on the First Section less than five years later.

Nifco US History

Nifco America effective Monday, January 23, 2006, has completed its Headquarters move to a recently completed 30,000 square foot two-story office addition to its main production facility located in Canal Winchester, Ohio. Nifco’s Headquarters includes administration & accounting, information technology & the Oracle ERP group, sales, design engineering (R&D) and project engineering.  The tooling department moved into its own separate 9,600 square foot building addition in September.  The move consolidates all Nifco Associates in Ohio under one roof improving efficiency and reducing overall costs as well.  The old headquarters buildings in Groveport, OH are currently for sale or lease. 

The new address is 8015 Dove Parkway, Canal Winchester, OH  43110.  All phone numbers remain the same as they were in Groveport, including the main number – 614-836-3808.

Nifco America began as a joint venture with ITW in 1987. Nifco brought Japanese OEM design and pre-production expertise, while ITW provided Management together with policy and procedures. Initially a shoot and ship operation, Nifco was located in a Hilliard, Ohio leased facility with Honda being the major customer. 1991 saw the opening of  a second leased plant in Laverne, Tennessee providing parts primarily to Nissan which continues to operate.

In 1997, ten years after beginning in the US, Nifco bought out ITW and purchased the current R&D, Administrative, tooling and assembly plants located at 4485 South Hamilton in Groveport, Ohio. At this time Nifco began the shift from shoot and ship to automated and hand assembly plus tool design and manufacturing by leasing a new plant in Greenpoint, Ohio. This later became the site of the first joint venture and continues providing outsourced product to Nifco.

In 2000 Nifco leased a 129,000 sq ft plant in Canal Winchester, Ohio which was subsequently purchased in 2005. The move into over 39,000 sq feet (29,000 sq feet of corporate office space and a 10,000 sq foot tool room) was completed in January, 2006, consolidated all activities in the Columbus area. A new assembly plant opened this spring, 2005, in Chihuahua, Mexico.