In 1951, during Japan's postwar revival, Toshiro Ota established our company to promote the adoption of in-home bathtubs in Kobe, all in the belief that "baths make us happy." Since then, we have created a series of highly energy-efficient products that excel in terms of both economic and environmental benefits. By promoting "an affluent way of life with daily hot water," Noritz has contributed to the evolution of bath culture in Japan.

Noritz developed the world's first aluminum gas bath heater, and water heater with electric control powered by 100V. In addition, we have applied electronic technology in pursuit of greater convenience, and marketed the first water heater with fully-automatic bath heating function—a major innovation in home baths.
Our history has been a story of consistently meeting the challenge of bringing people "an affluent way of life with daily hot water." As a result, we have captured a share of about 40% of the domestic market for gas and kerosene water heaters. Going forward, the Noritz Group will maintain its founding idea that "baths make us happy," while taking on new roles as we evolve beyond the scope of conventional water heating. We will deliver the simple comforts of life in areas such as the environment, safety, comfort, health and beauty.

In 1993, Noritz took its first step into international business by establishing a joint venture with a local company in Shanghai, China, and in 2002 we established a local subsidiary in the U.S., and began sales of tankless water heaters. In 2013, we invested in a Chinese manufacturer of housing equipment, and in 2014 we purchased an Australian manufacturer of water heaters. Thus in the last few years we have accelerated our global expansion against a background of rising global needs for environmental protection and energy conservation.

While helping to protect the global environment, Noritz is carrying out R&D on products to make people's lives more fulfilling, and every day more safe, secure and pleasant. Our strength is our technical capabilities that allow us to offer stable hot water by combining advanced fuel control technology, heat exchange technology, and fluid control technology. In addition to our mainstay gas and kerosene water heaters, we are working hard to protect the global environment by developing environmental, energy-saving products using natural sources of energy such as solar thermal and air thermal.

Total CO2 emissions from our business activities and manufactured products are about 20.15 million tons annually. This is equivalent to about 1.4% of the annual CO2 emissions of Japan as a whole.
Noritz regards environmental protection as its social responsibility, and based on the slogan of "A Clean Earth for Future Generations," we are promoting reduction of CO2 emissions, and actively working to preserve the global environment. We are also the only firm in our industry to be certified by the government as an "Eco-First Company."