TDK
Encyclopedia
, formerly , is a Japanese company which manufactures electronic materials, electronic component
s, and recording and data-storage media
, and markets them globally. Their motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity". The initials TDK come from the original Japanese name of the company: Tokyo Denki Kagaku (Tokyo Electric and Chemicals).
TDK was founded in Japan on 7 December 1935 to manufacture iron
-based magnetic material ferrite
, which had been recently invented by Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei. In 1952 they began production of magnetic tapes, with compact cassette
tapes following in 1966; it is for these that the company is most widely noted. TDK used to manufacture an extensive portfolio of magnetic and optical media, including several formats of videotape
and blank CD-R
and recordable DVD
discs until it licensed the rights to do so to Imation. Imation also now manufactures USB flash drive
s under this license.
Industry trends see the company moving into new forms of media; in 2004 TDK was the first media-manufacturer to join the companies developing BD
post-DVD
technology.
Operations in the USA began in 1965 with a New York office, and European operations began in 1970 with an office in Frankfurt
, West Germany.
In the 90's TDK's Mass Storage Division included brushless DC spindle motors
, MR
heads and thin-film heads.
TDK operated a semiconductor division in California
for about a decade, but divested it in 2005.
The company operates a museum dedicated to the technologies with which it is involved, at its Hirasawa plant in Japan.
Since June 2006, Takehiro Kamigama has been president
, having been nominated by his predecessor, Hajime Sawabe, who currently serves as chairman.
In late 2007, Imation
bought TDK's recording business. The deal, which covers media properties such as flash media, optical media, magnetic tape, and accessories, was for $300 million. TDK remains in existence as a separate company, with its research and development, manufacturing and OEM portions.
, who were promoted to the Premier League twice during this era, though lasting for just one season before being relegated on both occasions. TDK also sponsored Dutch giant Ajax for several years in 1980s. It is a current sponsor of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics
. It also sponsors activities and events such as those at The Cross nightclub
in Central London
, and since 1990 has had a prominent neon sign at Piccadilly Circus
.
In 2002, the company's consumer electronics division was the presenting sponsor of the Third Annual Jammy Awards, with the TDK Live Performance of the Year award honoring the best live performance that was legally available on the Web as a free download. The award was given to the band moe.
for their performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
.
TDK's own football club, based in Nikaho
, Akita
, recently split from the corporation to become independent football club Blaublitz Akita, with aim for the professional leagues.
Electronic component
An electronic component is a basic electronic element and may be available in a discrete form having two or more electrical terminals . These are intended to be connected together, usually by soldering to a printed circuit board, in order to create an electronic circuit with a particular function...
s, and recording and data-storage media
Data storage device
thumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....
, and markets them globally. Their motto is "Contribute to culture and industry through creativity". The initials TDK come from the original Japanese name of the company: Tokyo Denki Kagaku (Tokyo Electric and Chemicals).
History
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
-based magnetic material ferrite
Ferrite (magnet)
Ferrites are chemical compounds consisting of ceramic materials with iron oxide as their principal component. Many of them are magnetic materials and they are used to make permanent magnets, ferrite cores for transformers, and in various other applications.Many ferrites are spinels with the...
, which had been recently invented by Yogoro Kato and Takeshi Takei. In 1952 they began production of magnetic tapes, with compact cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
tapes following in 1966; it is for these that the company is most widely noted. TDK used to manufacture an extensive portfolio of magnetic and optical media, including several formats of videotape
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
and blank CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
and recordable DVD
DVD recordable
DVD recordable and DVD rewritable refer to part of Optical disc recording technologies. DVD optical disc formats that can be recorded by a DVD recorder, , either write once or rewritable format written by laser, as compared to DVD-ROM, which is mass-produced by pressing, primarily for the...
discs until it licensed the rights to do so to Imation. Imation also now manufactures USB flash drive
USB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
s under this license.
Industry trends see the company moving into new forms of media; in 2004 TDK was the first media-manufacturer to join the companies developing BD
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
post-DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
technology.
Operations in the USA began in 1965 with a New York office, and European operations began in 1970 with an office in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, West Germany.
In the 90's TDK's Mass Storage Division included brushless DC spindle motors
Brushless DC electric motor
Brushless DC motors also known as electronically commutated motors are electric motors powered by direct-current electricity and having electronic commutation systems, rather than mechanical commutators and brushes...
, MR
Magnetoresistance
Magnetoresistance is the property of a material to change the value of its electrical resistance when an external magnetic field is applied to it. The effect was first discovered by William Thomson in 1856, but he was unable to lower the electrical resistance of anything by more than 5%. This...
heads and thin-film heads.
TDK operated a semiconductor division in California
Teridian Semiconductor
Teridian Semiconductor or TSC, a subsidiary of Maxim Integrated Products located in Irvine, California, designs and sells mixed-signal ICs, primarily for energy management markets.-Products:...
for about a decade, but divested it in 2005.
The company operates a museum dedicated to the technologies with which it is involved, at its Hirasawa plant in Japan.
Since June 2006, Takehiro Kamigama has been president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, having been nominated by his predecessor, Hajime Sawabe, who currently serves as chairman.
In late 2007, Imation
Imation
Imation is a US based multi-national technology corporation that designs, manufactures and sells recordable data storage media, consumer electronics products and accessories.The company is a 1996 spin off of 3M and is headquartered in Oakdale, Minnesota...
bought TDK's recording business. The deal, which covers media properties such as flash media, optical media, magnetic tape, and accessories, was for $300 million. TDK remains in existence as a separate company, with its research and development, manufacturing and OEM portions.
Sponsorship and advertising
From 1993 to 1998, TDK were the sponsors of the English football club Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
, who were promoted to the Premier League twice during this era, though lasting for just one season before being relegated on both occasions. TDK also sponsored Dutch giant Ajax for several years in 1980s. It is a current sponsor of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Championships in Athletics is an event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations . Originally, it was organised every four years, but this changed in 1991, and it has since been organised biennially.-History:...
. It also sponsors activities and events such as those at The Cross nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, and since 1990 has had a prominent neon sign at Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus is a road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly...
.
In 2002, the company's consumer electronics division was the presenting sponsor of the Third Annual Jammy Awards, with the TDK Live Performance of the Year award honoring the best live performance that was legally available on the Web as a free download. The award was given to the band moe.
Moe.
moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....
for their performance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an annual four day music festival created and produced by Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment, held at Great Stage Park on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee. It hosted its tenth annual event June 9–12, 2011...
.
TDK's own football club, based in Nikaho
Nikaho, Akita
is a city located in Akita, Japan.On October 1, 2005, the town of Nikaho merged with the towns of Kisakata and Konoura, all from Yuri District, to form the city of Nikaho. The new city has an area of 240.61km², and an estimated population of 27,245 as of October 2011.-City Symbols:The city tree is...
, Akita
Akita Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.- History :The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu....
, recently split from the corporation to become independent football club Blaublitz Akita, with aim for the professional leagues.