Alps Electric
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| Type | Public |
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| Traded as | TYO: 6770 |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Headquarters | 1-7 Yukigaya-otsuka-machi Ota, Tokyo, Japan 〒145-8501 |
| Products | Electronics devices |
| Subsidiaries | Alpine Electronics Cirque Corporation |
| Website | www.alps.com |
Alps Electric Co., Ltd. (アルプス電気株式会社 Arupusu Denki Kabushiki-gaisha) produces electronic devices, including switches, potentiometers, sensors, encoders and touchpads. Alps is a multinational corporation, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1948. As of June 22, 2012, the President is Toshihiro Kuriyama and Chairman is Masataka Kataoka.[1] Alps is also well known for the Alpine brand of car audio.
The Alps Electric Group has R&D, production and sales bases located in Japan and across the globe—in the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia, Korea, and Greater China.[2] Since its founding, Alps Electric has supplied around 40,000 types of electronic component to over 2,000 manufacturers of home appliances, mobile devices, automobiles and industrial equipment worldwide.[3]
Alps Automotive division focuses on provision of custom products and modules, including control panels and steering modules, for specific vehicle models, as well as components compatible with any vehicle.[4] Alps Home and Mobile divisions focuses on provision of switches, potentiometers, sensors, and other components through to multi-input devices like touch panels and GlidePoint™ to home, mobile and PC markets. Alps Electric focuses on human-machine and machine-machine interfaces for home appliances, mobile devices and PCs.[5] Alps Industry, Healthcare & Energy divisions focuses on provision of a wide variety of products, including sensors, power inductors, switches and communication modules, to industry, healthcare and energy markets.[6]
Alps touchpad hardware is developed and manufactured by the Cirque Corporation, which they acquired in 2003;[7] however, the parent company continues to write their own drivers. Their drivers are Windows certified. They are mostly found in Sony, Toshiba and Dell notebooks, as well as the OLPC XO-1. They also manufacture keyboards for Apple computers, including the original Macintosh and the first iMac.
[edit] References
- ^ Alps Electric Corporate Facts
- ^ Alps Electric Company Profile
- ^ Alps Overview of Business Operations
- ^ Alps Electric Automotive Division
- ^ Alps Electric Home & Mobile Division
- ^ Alps Electric Industry, Healthcare & Energy Division
- ^ Cirque Corporation Website: Alps Electric Co.
[edit] External links
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