In 1985, with just six employees, NPK Construction Equipment opened its doors just outside of Cleveland, Ohio.
This year, the company celebrates 35 years since it established its roots in North America.
The company was created to serve as a distributor of the Japanese NPK’s construction and demolition attachments throughout the western hemisphere.
The NPKCE team worked diligently to promote the NPK brand in the western market where it was not yet widely known.
A comprehensive network of dealers was assembled across North and South America by partnering with dealerships of various construction and demolition machine manufacturers that could be equipped with NPK attachments.
Over the next four years demand for NPK attachments began to grow at a rate that outpaced production. So, to ensure supply met demand, NPKCE purchased a manufacturing facility, and began producing some components and products in the United States, which upped the company’s employee count to 45.
The company evolved from an importer and distributor into a full-fledged manufacturer.
NPK origins
Nippon Pneumatic Manufacturing Co. was established in Japan nearly a century ago.
The company began manufacturing air tools, and expanded into the productions of chemical processing equipment by 1945.
In 1957 the construction equipment division was created, and NPK Japan developed the world’s first boom mounted pneumatic hammer. In 1972, NPK designed and built the first boom mounted hydraulic hammer: the foundation for today’s popular line of NPK hydraulic hammers.
NPK also introduced the first boom mounted concrete crushers equipped with hydraulic booster in 1984.
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The NPK brand continued to gain popularity and demand continued to grow across the world. Over the course of many years, dealers were signed on in every corner of the world, and sales and manufacturing locations opened across Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East.
“Although NPK has been around for nearly 100 years, the past 35 years have been incredible for us at NPKCE. Our dependable and hardworking employees are our biggest asset by far,” the company said in a news release.
“Dedication and commitment to customers and dealers is what has set NPK apart from the rest of the competition. Our staff’s responsiveness and commitment to excellence is unmatched in the industry.”
NPKCE growth
Back in North America, NPKCE continued to grow by expanding product lines as well as acquiring or expanding facilities throughout Ohio and into other states as the need arose.
By 2009, NPKCE had grown to employ more than 85 people, spread out among three interrelated buildings all within walking distance of one another to streamline the production process.
In 2013, NPKCE acquired their long-time machining partner, Holmes Manufacturing, increasing the number of employees to more than 100. Soon after, NPKCE would expand its manufacturing facility, eventually moving fabrication, machining and assembly divisions all under one roof.
NPKCE expanded its footprint outside of Ohio, as well. When the company found itself without a dealer to serve customers in Georgia, NPK Demotrax was created. NPK Demotrax served not only as a sales distributor, but also as a service and rental facility for customers throughout the state.
NPKCE also formed a partnership with German mining equipment manufacturer, Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik to serve as a distributor for Paus’s mining vehicle line in North America.
Paus was well-known throughout Europe, Russia and South America for their high quality, purpose built mining vehicles and NPKCE had been a supplier of tunnelling hammers to Paus for several years. In 2017 a fourth building was added to the Walton Hills campus to serve the mining division.
Genesis acquisition
In 2019, the opportunity arose for yet another acquisition. Genesis Attachments, Genesis GmbH and Genesis Holdings were on the market and NPKCE took the opportunity to obtain an additional attachment company that shared similar business and manufacturing standards as the NPK group.
Genesis Attachments is located in Superior, Wisconsin and has been in operation since 1997. Genesis GmbH is a distribution facility located in Memmingen, Germany and was founded in 2002 to serve the European market. With more than 125 additional employees from Genesis businesses, the employee count for NPKCE companies is now more than 250.
NPK today
NPK is now a global attachment manufacturer with more than 800 employees worldwide; 250 of which are in North America.
The dealer network in North and South America consists of more than 525 locations to serve NPKCE and Genesis customers.
All NPK companies take a global collaboration approach to manufacturing.
The sharing of ideas and manufacturing capacity leads to better-quality designs, improved production times and high quality products, according to the company.
All top brackets, hammer brackets, plate compactors, sheet pile drivers, pedestal boom systems, hardcar unloaders and material handling systems are designed, manufactured, and assembled at NPKCE in Walton Hills, Ohio.
All NPK hammer power cells, concrete crushers, material processors, demolition shears and pneumatic hammers are manufactured at NPK Japan. Demolition grabs are manufactured at NPK Europa. Genesis products are designed, manufactured, and assembled in Superior, Wisconsin.
