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
- December 1917
- Founded as Nippon Felt Botai K.K.(Capital: 300,000 yen)
- February 1934
- Company name changed to Japan Felt Industrial Co., Ltd.
- June/July 1945
- The bulk of our main factory was bombed down during World War Ⅱ and reconstructed later.
- March 1952
- Felt for interlining of men’s suit developed and launched for the first time in Japan.
- April 1955
- Felt for clothing and handicrafts launched. That expanded the domestic use of felt and developed an entry into the clothing and handicraft industry.
- August 1959
- Chemical-bonded nonwovens HIMELON™ launched.
- February 1963
- Licensed as a JIS factory for industrial wool roll felt.
- November 1963
- Needle-punched felt filter bag “FELLON™” developed for the first time in Japan.
- September 1968
- Felt for copying machines launched for the first time in Japan.
- October 1971
- FELTACE™ (collar liner) launched.
- September 1978
- Nonwovens for compress launched.
- April 1982
- Nippon Felt Kako K.K. established.
- April 1986
- Thermal-bonded nonwovens HIMELON HM launched.
- August 1996
- Began outsourcing some products in China.
- December 1999
- Established business alliance with HVAF.
- April 2000
- Company name changed to AMBIC Co., Ltd.
Obtained ISO9002 certification. (Renewed as ISO9001 later.) - April 2001
- Launched high-performance filter bags made of spunlaced nonwoven fabric.
- June 2001
- Company name of Nippon Felt Kako K.K. changed to Japan Felt Industrial Co., Ltd.
- November 2001
- Obtained ISO14001 certification.
- August 2002
- Became an affiliated company of Nippon Keori Kaisha, Ltd.
- October 2002
- China-based affiliate “Jiangyin Ambic Felts & Nonwovens Ltd.” established.
- September 2008
- Hong Kong-based affiliate “AMBIC (HONGKONG) CO., LTD.” established.
- August 2012
- Shanghai-based affiliate “AMBIC (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd” established.
- December 2017
- Celebrated our 100th year in business.
- February 2019
- Hong Kong-based affiliate “AMBIC (HONGKONG) CO., LTD.” closed.
- December 2021
- Established a new factory at the local subsidiary “Jiangyin Ambic Felts & Nonwovens Ltd.”
History of Fujico Co., Ltd.
- July 1951
- Established Fuji Hat Industry Co., Ltd. (former name)
- October 1951
- Began manufacturing wool hats, hat bodies, and small flat fur felt.
- October 1952
- Established the Tokyo Branch Office (currently Tokyo Branch).
- May 1955
- Began manufacturing long flat felt.
- March 1956
- Began manufacturing colored long felt.
- November 1958
- Began manufacturing pen felt.
- February 1960
- Authorized as a JIS-designated factory for long felt.
- September 1964
- Began manufacturing needle punch carpets.
- May 1965
- Began manufacturing hammer felt.
- June 1967
- Visited by Their Imperial Highnesses Prince and Princess Hitachi.
- June 1968
- Technical partnership with Knox Co., USA, in hat manufacturing.
- March 1971
- Changed the company name to “Fujico Co., Ltd.”
- September 1975
- Established the Nagoya Sales Office.
- March 1980
- Began manufacturing automotive carpets.
- June 1980
- Established the Ishioka Factory.
- September 1983
- Established Fujico Service Co., Ltd.
- March 1990
- Established the Eastern Distribution Center.
- August 1992
- Began manufacturing spunlace.
- June 1994
- Riverbank protection and anti-seepage materials were reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Construction.
- July 1994
- Partnered with DuPont for the manufacturing and sale of heat-resistant filter felt.
- October 1995
- Listed on the OTC stock market.
- March 1997
- Established overseas subsidiary “Fujico Hong Kong Co., Ltd.” (Hong Kong).
- March 1998
- The head office and main factory obtained ISO 14001 certification.
- October 1999
- Moved to a new headquarters building.
- July 2004
- Obtained ISO 9001 certification for automotive nonwovens.
- April 2008
- Began production at the Shenzhen Processing Factory.
- March 2009
- Completed the new Tokyo Branch building.
- October 2010
- Established overseas subsidiary “Fujico Precision Materials (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.”
- January 2012
- Acquired Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. (Saitama) as a subsidiary.
- July 2012
- Established the Tatebayashi Office (now the Tatebayashi Factory, closed in February 2021).
- October 2012
- Merged with Fujico Service Co., Ltd.
- November 2012
- Established the Ichinoseki Factory.
- February 2013
- Established overseas subsidiary “PT. FUJICO INDONESIA”.
- June 2013
- Obtained ISO 9001 certification for headquarters and Ishioka production.
- June 2013
- Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. established overseas subsidiary “Sanwa Felt Hong Kong Co., Ltd.”
- January 2014
- Established the Seoul Liaison Office
- March 2016
- Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. established overseas subsidiary “SANWA FELT (THAILAND) CO., LTD.”
- March 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.”
- September 2021
- Acquired 100% by Nippon Felt Co., Ltd. and joined the Nikke Group.
- September 2021
- Established the Kakogawa Factory.
- June 2022
- Relocated Nagoya Sales Office.
- June 2022
- Established Sanwa Felt Itami Factory.
F&A Nonwovens Corporation
- December 2023
- Integrated Ambic Co., Ltd. and Fujiko Co., Ltd. (via a split absorption)
and renamed as “F&A Nonwovens Corporation.”
The subsidiaries Sanwa Felt Co., Ltd. and Nippon Felt Industry Co., Ltd.
merged and were renamed “FANS Precision Corporation.” - March 2024
- Relocated FANS Precision’s Itami Factory to the Himeji Factory.
- May 2024
- Relocated the Itami Factory to the Himeji and Kakogawa Factories.