FANS’s Management Philosophy
Motivated by combining innovation and tradition,
we will continue to create value and contribute to society and customers.
About FANS
We are a manufacturer of felts and nonwovens.
Founded in 1917, we have been manufacturing our products in Himeji,
Hyogo Prefecture, for over 100 years.
We are providing our products and services all over the world.
What are Felts and Nonwovens?
Felts and nonwovens are made by compressing animal hair
such as sheep or chemical fibers and entangling them into a sheet.
We classify those made from animal hair as felts and those made from chemical fibers
such as polyester as nonwovens.
FANS’s Products
are Used in Various Fields
Gas filters for garbage incinerators
Parts of wind instruments
Materials used for tunnel constructions
Collar Liner of Suit
Spacers of gaps between automobile interior parts
Hammer felt for piano
Spacers of gaps between home appliance parts
Materials for handicrafts and stationery
FANS in Data
Annual usage of wool
Approx.179900sheeps
600 tons of wool per year,
or about 400,000 sweaters
（2023 data）
Annual production of HIMELON
Total length2350km
Equivalent to the distance
between Hokkaido and Okinawa
（2023 data）
Successive Presidents
The current President is the0th
The 3rd President, Kenichi Fujioka, was the father of Mr. Takuya Fujioka, an actor known for his work on “Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari” and “Sapporo Ichiban” noodles TV commercials.
Annual production of
hammer felt
Approx.89900pianos
We have inherited the manufacturing methods of Royal George, a British manufacturer with over 100 years of history. Our wool felt is used for over half of the world’s pianos.
（2023 data）
Founding year
1817年
FANS was founded in the same year as
J.F. Kennedy was born during the First World War.
Japanese companies with
a history of more than 100 years
Approx.0%
There are approximately 33,000 so-called
“century-old companies” in Japan.
（2019 survey by Teikoku Databank）
FANS’s History
AMBIC CO.,LTD.
- Dec. 1917
- Founded as Nippon Felt Botai K.K.(Capital: 300,000 yen)
- Feb. 1934
- Company name changed to Japan Felt Industrial Co., Ltd.
- Jun./Jul. 1945
- The bulk of our main factory was bombed down during World War Ⅱ and reconstructed later.
- Mar. 1952
- Felt for interlining of men’s suit developed and launched for the first time in Japan.
- Apr. 1955
- Felt for clothing and handicrafts launched. That expanded the domestic use of felt and developed an entry into the clothing and handicraft industry.
- Aug. 1959
- Chemical-bonded nonwovens HIMELON™ launched.
- Feb. 1963
- Licensed as a JIS factory for industrial wool roll felt.
- Nov. 1963
- Needle-punched felt filter bag “FELLON™” developed for the first time in Japan.
- Sep. 1968
- Felt for copying machines launched for the first time in Japan.
- Oct. 1971
- FELTACE™ (collar liner) launched.
- Sep. 1978
- Nonwovens for compress launched.
- Apr. 1982
- Nippon Felt Kako K.K. established.
- Apr. 1986
- Thermal-bonded nonwovens HIMELON HM launched.
- Aug. 1996
- Began outsourcing some products in China.
- Dec. 1999
- Established business alliance with HVAF.
- Apr. 2000
- Company name changed to AMBIC Co., Ltd.
Obtained ISO9002 certification. (Renewed as ISO9001 later.) - Apr. 2001
- Launched high-performance filter bags made of spunlaced nonwoven fabric.
- Jun. 2001
- Company name of Nippon Felt Kako K.K. changed to Japan Felt Industrial Co., Ltd.
- Nov. 2001
- Obtained ISO14001 certification.
- Aug. 2002
- Became an affiliated company of Nippon Keori Kaisha, Ltd.
- Oct. 2002
- China-based affiliate “Jiangyin Ambic Felts & Nonwovens Ltd.” established.
- Sep. 2008
- Hong Kong-based affiliate “AMBIC (HONGKONG) CO., LTD.” established.
- Aug. 2012
- Shanghai-based affiliate “AMBIC (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd” established.
- Dec. 2017
- Celebrated our 100th year in business.
- Feb. 2019
- Hong Kong-based affiliate “AMBIC (HONGKONG) CO., LTD.” closed.
- Dec. 2021
- Established a new factory at the local subsidiary “Jiangyin Ambic Felts & Nonwovens Ltd.”
FUJI Corporation
- Jul. 1951
- Established Fuji Hat Industry Co., Ltd. (former name)
- Oct. 1951
- Began manufacturing wool hats, hat bodies, and small flat fur felt.
- Oct. 1952
- Established the Tokyo Branch Office (currently Tokyo Branch).
- May 1955
- Began manufacturing long flat felt.
- Mar. 1956
- Began manufacturing colored long felt.
- Nov. 1958
- Began manufacturing pen felt.
- Feb. 1960
- Authorized as a JIS-designated factory for long felt.
- Sep. 1964
- Began manufacturing needle punch carpets.
- May 1965
- Began manufacturing hammer felt.
- Jun. 1967
- Visited by Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Hitachi.
- Jun. 1968
- Technical partnership with Knox Co., USA, in hat manufacturing.
- Mar. 1971
- Changed the company name to “Fujico Co., Ltd.”
- Sep. 1975
- Established the Nagoya Sales Office.
- Mar. 1980
- Began manufacturing automotive carpets.
- Jun. 1980
- Established the Ishioka Factory.
- Sep. 1983
- Established Fujico Service Co., Ltd.
- Mar. 1990
- Established the Eastern Distribution Center.
- Aug. 1992
- Began manufacturing spunlace.
- Jun. 1994
- Riverbank protection and anti-seepage materials were reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Construction.
- Jul. 1994
- Partnered with DuPont for the manufacturing and sale of heat-resistant filter felt.
- Oct. 1995
- Listed on the OTC stock market.
- Mar. 1997
- Established overseas subsidiary “Fujico Hong Kong Co., Ltd.” (Hong Kong).
- Mar. 1998
- The head office and main factory obtained ISO 14001 certification.
- Oct. 1999
- Moved to a new headquarters building.
- Jul. 2004
- Obtained ISO 9001 certification for automotive nonwovens.
- Apr. 2008
- Began production at the Shenzhen Processing Factory.
- Mar. 2009
- Completed the new Tokyo Branch building.
- Oct. 2010
- Established overseas subsidiary “Fujico Precision Materials (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.”
- Jan. 2012
- Acquired Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. (Saitama) as a subsidiary.
- Jul. 2012
- Established the Tatebayashi Office (now the Tatebayashi Factory, closed in Feb. 2021).
- Oct. 2012
- Merged with Fujico Service Co., Ltd.
- Nov. 2012
- Established the Ichinoseki Factory.
- Feb. 2013
- Established overseas subsidiary “PT. FUJICO INDONESIA”.
- Jun. 2013
- Obtained ISO 9001 certification for headquarters and Ishioka production.
- Jun. 2013
- Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. established overseas subsidiary “Sanwa Felt Hong Kong Co., Ltd.”
- Jan. 2014
- Established the Seoul Liaison Office
- Mar. 2016
- Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. established overseas subsidiary “SANWA FELT (THAILAND) CO., LTD.”
- Mar. 2018
- Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. established overseas subsidiary “SANWA FELT VIETNAM CO., LTD.”
- May 2018
- Seoul Liaison Office became an overseas subsidiary, establishing “FUJICO KOREA CO., LTD.”
- Sep. 2021
- Acquired 100% by Nippon Felt Co., Ltd. and joined the Nikke Group.
- Sep. 2021
- Established the Kakogawa Factory.
- Jun. 2022
- Relocated Nagoya Sales Office.
- Jun. 2022
- Established Sanwa Felt Itami Factory.
F&A Nonwovens Corporation
- Dec. 2023
- Ambic Co., Ltd. and Fuji Corporation were integrated (via a split absorption) and renamed “F&A Nonwovens Corporation.”
The subsidiaries Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. and Nippon Felt Industry Co., Ltd.
merged and were renamed “FANS Precision Corporation.” - Mar. 2024
- Relocated FANS Precision’s Itami Factory to the Himeji Factory.
- May 2024
- Relocated the Itami Factory to the Himeji and Kakogawa Factories.