Corporate history

1954	Factory at the time of the founding Founded as Showa Koki Seizou. Started to manufacture lenses for camera or binoculars.
1959	Night-vision system installed at Tokyo Tower Became NEC Corporation affiliated company. Started to manufacture NIR lenses.
1961	Started to manufacture microscopes.
1973	Started to develop laser optics technologies.
1980	Released DUV objective lenses for semiconductor inspection.
1981	Started to macufacture objective lenses for DUV lasers.
1984	Developed coating technologies for high power lasers.
1985	Developed lenses for IR camera.
1987	Yokohama plant at completion Opened Yokohama plant.
1989	Started to manufacture laser radar optical systems for air pollution observation.
1990	Released fluoride coating products for high power UV lasers.
1993	Started to manufacture satellite optical systems for Mars exploration.
1994	Changed the company name to Showa Optronics Co., Ltd.
1995	The world's first continuously-variable titanium-sapphire lasers for all wavelength region Medal of the industrial technology development prize (Right) Developed continuously-variable titanium-sapphire lasers for all wavelength region (Industrial technology development prize commended by Kanagawa prefecture). Developed ultra-low-loss mirrors through ion-beam sputtering.
1996	Released diode pumped solid state laser products (JUNO series). Released aspheric lenses for infrared.
1997	Opened Setagaya head office and plant. Developed diode laser beam shaping technologies (International patent applied).
1998	Unique dissertation prize commended by Laser Society of Japan (Title: Broad-bandwidth, low-loss mirrors for wavelength-tunable laser)
1999	Took over NEC Corporation gas laser operations. Developed satellite camera optical systems for the asteroid explorer 'HAYABUSA'. Certified ISO14001.
2000	Released compact diode-pumped visible laser products as JUNO series.
2001	Certified ISO9001.
2007	Certified ISO27001.
2010	Industry prize commended by Laser Society of Japan (Compact blue/green lasers).
2020	Became KYOCERA Corporation affiliated company. Changed the company name to KYOCERA SOC Corporation.