1940s
In August 1945, TOPCON temporarily closed its factories after the end of World War II, but soon gained the authorization from the Tokyo Governor to convert the factory for production of civil products. By the end of the year, the factory reopened to manufacture binoculars and surveying instruments. They established Yamagata Kikai Kyogo Kabushikikaisha (currently Topcon Yamagata Co., Ltd.) in 1946 in Yamagata-shi, Yamagata Prefecture.[6]
In December 1947, TOPCON started selling lens meters and an Ophthalmic and Medical Instruments business. In May of 1949, it listed its stock on Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges.
1957—released its first single-lens reflex camera, the Topcon R,[7] with semi-auto lens and an interchangeable finder.
March 1960—Became an affiliate of Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. (currently Toshiba Corporation).
May 1963—Released the first single-lens reflex camera with through the lens metering (TTL), the TOPCON RE Super.[7]
October 1969—Established Tokyo Kogaku Seiki Kabushikikaisha (currently OPTONEXUS Co., Ltd.) in Tamura-gun, Fukushima Prefecture.
April 1970—Established Topcon Europe N.V.(currently Topcon Europe B.V.) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
September 1970—Established Topcon Instrument Corporation of America (currently Topcon Medical Systems, Inc.)
January 1975—Established Topcon Sokki Co., Ltd. (currently Topcon Sales corporation), a surveying instrument sales company.
December 1976—Established Topcon Medical Japan Co., Ltd., a medical instrument sales company.
April 1978—Started selling an electric distance meter DM-C1 adopting a near-infrared.
October 1978—Started selling a refractometer RM-100 incorporating near-infrared beam and a television system.
March 1979—Established Topcon Singapore Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.
April 1986—Established Topcon Optical (H.K.) Ltd. in Hong Kong. September 1986, listed on First Sections of Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges.
April 1989—Changed its corporate name to TOPCON CORPORATION.
April 1991—Entry into electron beam business.
December 1991—Built an engineering center in corporate premises.
September 1994—Established Topcon Laser Systems, Inc. (currently Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.) in California, U.S.A., acquired Advanced Grade Technology, advanced into machine control business.
October 1994—Delivered a nationwide GPS continuous observation system to Geographical Survey Institute, Ministry of Construction, Japanese Government.
July 2000—Acquired Javad Positioning Systems Inc.[8][9] in the United States and started selling precision GPS receivers and related system products.
July 2001—Established Topcon America Corporation in New Jersey, U.S.A., as a holding company. Reorganized the subsidiaries in the United States dividing them into the ophthalmic and medical instrument business and the positioning business.
July 2002—Liquidated Topcon Singapore Pte. Ltd. and established Topcon South Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.
February 2004—Established Topcon (Beijing) Opto-Electronics Corporation in Beijing, China.
July 2005—Reorganized sales subsidiaries in Europe and newly established two firms in the European market - one overseeing eye care business and the other overseeing positioning business - with Topcon Europe B.V. as the holding company.
July 2005—Transferred from part of the Hoya Corporation Vision Care Company's ophthalmic instruments segment in Japan.
April 2006—Implemented two-for-one stock split.
August 2006—Acquired ANKA Systems, Inc., in the United States for full-fledged entry into the ophthalmic network business in the United States.[10]
October 2006—Acquired KEE Technologies Pty Ltd., in Australia for entry into field of agriculture.
April 2007—In order to build a global group and quick business expansion, Topcon adopted three business structures, Positioning Business Unit, Eye Care Business Unit and Finetech Business Unit.
May 2007—Business rights for mobile control (navigation systems, ITS and others) transferred to U.S. subsidiary from Javad Navigation Systems, Inc.[11]
February 2008—Conducted a takeover bid for shares of Sokkia Co., Ltd. and made it a subsidiary to enhance competitiveness of the positioning business in the global market.
July 2008—Established in Turin (Italy) TIERRA SPA, a joint venture with Divitech spa entering in the Telematic and Remote Diagnostic market segments.
June 2009—Acquired shares of Italian wireless communications manufacturer DESTURA s.r.l. to strengthen operations in mobile communications, machine controls, and agricultural IT market segments.[12]
October 2009—Established Topcon 3D Inspection Laboratories, Inc., a 3D inspection technology development/design company, in Canada. Entry into the 3D measurement and high-end print board fields.
March 2010—Acquired InlandGEO Holding S.L., the largest dealer in Spain, to enhance sales channels for precision agricultural systems in the European, Middle-Eastern, and African markets.[13][14]
July 2010—Expanded Chinese subsidiary and established Topcon (Beijing) Opto-Electronics Development Corporation as a manufacturing base in the emerging Chinese market.
July 2010—Reorganized sales subsidiary in Singapore, established Topcon Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd. as a holding company. Established new Positioning and Eye Care sales companies.
August 2010—Established Topcon Medical Laser Systems, Inc. by acquiring retina and glaucoma business of OptiMedica (U.S.A) and entered therapeutic laser market.
January 2011—Established Topcon Positioning Middle East and Africa FZE to expand Positioning Business in Middle Eastern and African market.
November 2014—Acquired Wachendorff Elektronik GmbH and Wachendorff Electronics Inc.[15]
September 2015—Toshiba sells its shares of Topcon. [16]
April 2018—Established Topcon Healthcare Solutions, Inc. a medical software company based in Oakland, New Jersey. Their primary focus is the eye-care industry.
July 2021—Topcon Corporation acquired VISIA Imaging S.r.l, an ophthalmic device manufacturer headquartered in suburban Florence, Italy. [17]
March 2025—Topcon agreed to be taken private through a management buyout led by KKR & Co., which acquired a majority stake for approximately ¥256 billion (US$1.7 billion) alongside investments from Japan Investment Corporation and Topcon's management, valuing the company at ¥348 billion (US$2.3 billion) and resulting in its delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December.[18][19]
