Hiroki Imazato
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
A native of Nagasaki Prefecture, he graduated from Omura Middle School (now Nagasaki Prefectural Omura High School) in 1925. He served as Senior Managing Director of Nippon Tokushu Kozai Kogyo from April 1939 and of Nippon Kokuki Kogyo from 1942, and as President of Nippon Kinzoku Sangyo from May 1946, moving through metals and munitions companies. He had never worked at NSK and joined it as president at 41. In the same month, July 1948, Noriji Yano, formerly Managing Director of Nippon Kokuki Kogyo, became President of Nippon Kinzoku Sangyo, swapping places with Hiroki Imazato.
Selection
He became President in July 1948. The managing directors and directors on the 1964 roster were all career insiders who joined in the 1930s: Shozo Sugiyama in 1932, Tadao Kishina in 1933, Kozo Nakazawa in 1934 and Tadashi Nakaji in 1936. Among them, only the president had no prior history at the company, his previous post being President of Nippon Kinzoku Sangyo. The appointment appears to have entrusted the postwar rebuilding not to the internal hierarchy but to a manager from outside.
Initiatives
He opened the Otsu Plant in November 1953 and the Ishibe Plant in November 1959, and in June 1960 set up Kita Nippon Seiko in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, for steering, reaching beyond bearings. He built out a sales network with NSK Corporation in the U.S. in December 1962 and NSK Germany in October 1963, and in August 1964 set up NSK-Warner as a joint venture with Borg-Warner of the U.S. From 1969 the company began local production in high-tariff countries. Net sales grew from ¥2.3 billion in the fiscal year ended April 1952 to ¥71.3 billion in FY ended April 1973.
Career
Career
Nippon Special Steel Industries
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Apr 1939 | Senior Managing Director |
Nippon Aircraft Industries
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1942 | Senior Managing Director |
Nippon Metal Industries
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| May 1946 | President |
NSK
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jul 1948 | President |
| Dec 1973 | Chairman |
| Dec 1973 | Stepped down as President |