NGK Insulators Ltd. - Japan

NGK Insulators Ltd. began in 1919 with the establishment of its first factory in Mizuho, Nagoya, Japan. The largest plant and main office still remain here, but since then three other NGK factories have been put into operation. These three are (1) the Atsuta factory in Atsuta, Nagoya, (2) the Chita factory in Handa, Aichi, and (3) the Komaki factory in Komacki, Aichi. Permit me to untangle all those words! 

All of Japan is divided into a total of eight districts, of which Chubu is one. All four factories are located along Japan's Pacific coastal strip in the district of Chubu. Each district is further divided into political subdivisions called prefectures. Mizuho and Atsuta are cities located in the prefecture of Nagoya (named after its principal city, Nagoya, which also happens to be the prefecture's government seat -- like New York, N.Y.) Handa and Komaki are cities in the prefecture of Aichi. 

NGK also has overseas offices located in Bombay, India, Hamburg, Germany, and New York, U.S.A., with sales agents in all major territories. Their insulators are presently in service in over eighty countries, and their catalogue shows beautiful colored pictures of insulators on transmission lines in India, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the U.S.A. The list of items they produce is endless. 

BUSINESS ITEMS 

• PORCELAIN INSULATORS 
• Suspension Insulators 
• Long-Rod Insulators 
• High-Voltage Pin Type Insulators 
• Line Post Insulators 
• Cap and Pin Type Switch and Bus Insulators 
• Station Post Type Switch and Bus Insulators 
• Indoor Switch and Bus Insulators 
• Apparatus Bushings 
• Apparatus Porcelain Shells 
• Fuse Cutouts and Fuse Links 
• Insulators for Railway Electrification (AC, DC) 
• Telephone Insulators 
• Low-Voltage Insulators 
• Others 
• RESIN INSULATORS 
• LINE HARDWARE 
• MIRACLON (GLASS CERAMICS) PRODUCTS 
• MALLEABLE CAST IRON PRODUCTS 
• CHEMICAL PORCELAIN PRODUCTS 
• BERYLLIUM PRODUCTS 
• LIVE-LINE INSULATOR WASHING APPARATUS 
• INSULATOR FACTORY PLANNING & TECHNICAL CONSULTATION 
• CERAMIC INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT 

NGK is very proud in claiming vast resources of highest quality raw materials, up to date manufacturing facilities, constant and advanced research which keeps stride with the world's progress in technical developments of the electrical industry. 

The larger NGK insulators are very similar to the ones produced by OTK, Osaka, Japan, so no real purpose would be served by including drawings of these designs here, since they appeared in the last article on Japan -- February '80 issue of Crown Jewels. However, the section in the NGK catalogue on telephone and small pin type insulators did offer quite a bit of variation, so I felt they would be of interest. The pin holes on these can be made either according to the American Standard size or the smaller European size. If the European size, then the insulator is usually meant to be secured to a metal pin using hemp yarn thread. (They hasten to add that they do not supply the hemp yarn!) All NGK insulators are porcelain -- no glass -- and the colors of the glaze will be dark brown, bluish grey or white. 

The insulators will always bear the mark shown at the left. NGK insulators 

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The following two pictures show the Japanese insulators in my personal collection, along with the various markings to be found on them. Unfortunately, I have no OTK insulators, and only one NGK, which appears second from the left in the first picture. I don't know who made these or the meanings of any of the markings except the NGK, do you? Help! If you know, please write me, and I will include your findings in this column. But I can tell you this: When a Japanese insulator (or any item, for that matter) is marked "Made in Occupied Japan", it indicates that it was manufactured sometime during the seven years following the end of World War II, and only during that time.

Reading from left to right the markings correspond to the insulators in the first picture. 

On the following page are the markings to be found on the insulators in the second picture -- again reading from left to right.