FOR-A Timeline
1970
Company
- 1971.10
- Established in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan by founder Keizo Kiyohara.
- 1974.2
- FOR-A Corporation of America was established in California.
ProductsPRODUCT HISTORY
- 1971
- VTG-32 (Video Timer)
World’s first production timer.
- 1977
- FVW-900 (Video Writer)
Freehand on-screen drawing system via light pen.
1980
Company
- 1985.9
- R&D Center was opened in Sakura City, Chiba (Japan) for new product development and to expand manufacturing facilities.
- 1988.4
- FOR-A Corporation of Canada was established in Toronto.
- 1989.9
- Sakura R&D Center expansion was completed.
Products
- 1981
- FA-410P (Time Base Corrector)
Considered the best time base corrector on the market.
- 1986
- MF-2000 (Digital Video Effects)
First digital video effects manipulation unit produced.
1990
Company
- 1991.10
- R&D Center opened in Sapporo City, Hokkaido (Japan).
- 1994.3
- PC board assembly factory opened at Sakura R&D Center.
- 1995.4
- FOR-A (UK) Limited was established in London (England).
- 1996.4
- FOR-A Italia S.r.l. was established in Milan (Italy).
- 1998.3
- Headquarters moved to Ebisu in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (Japan).
- 1999.4
- 24/7 FOR-A service call center established for Japanese market.
Products
- 1993
- VWS-100 (Character Generator)
Successor model VWS-300 selected for official production display use at Nagano Olympic Games.
- 1997
- digiWarp (Virtual Studio System)
Virtual studio system product addition to lineup.
- 1999
- DCC-700H (Digital Color Corrector)
One of our first HD products produced at the start of digital broadcasting.
2000
Company
- 2000.1
- ISO certification of Sakura R&D Center was successfully completed.
- 2001.7
- New headquarters building was completed in Ebisu in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (Japan).
- 2004.10
- FOR-A Corporation of Korea was established in Seoul.
- 2005.7
- ISO 14001 certification of Sakura R&D Center was successfully completed.
- 2006.3
- Adoption of solar power generation at Sakura R&D Center.
- 2007.5
- FOR-A MFG Center opened in Sakura City, Chiba (Japan).
- 2008.4
- FOR-A Latin America was established in Florida.
- 2008.4
- FOR-A China Limited was established in Beijing.
- 2008.11
- ISO 27001 certification of administrative headquarter and engineering headquarter was successfully completed.
- 2009.10
- FOR-A IBE Campany Limited was established in Tokyo, Japan.
Products
- 2001
- HVS-3000 (2M/E Digital Video Switchers)
SD and HD versions developed simultaneously. Debuted to acclaim at IBC 2001.
- 2006
- FA-9000 (HD/SD Frame Synchronizer)
Won the "STAR Award" of the TV Technology USA magazine.
- 2006
- FRC-7000 (HD Frame Rate Converter)
Won the "STAR Award" of the TV Technology Europe magazine.
- 2007
- MediaConcierge® (Media Management System)
Comprehensive content management systems with file base.
- 2008
- HVS-5000 Series / HVS-300HS (Digital Video Switcher)
large-sized model, to Portable model, Further expansion of the lineup.
- 2009
- FRC-8000 (Framerate Converter)
Won the "Best of IBC 2009" of the TVB Europe magazine.
2010
Company
- 2011.4
- FOR-A YEM Eletex Campany Limited was established in Tokyo, Japan.
- 2011.6
- FOR-A Middle East-Africa Office established in Dubai (UAE).
- 2011.10
- Katsuaki Kiyohara appointed President and Representative Director.
- 2012.11
- Transferred all shares of Visual Graphics Inc. and acquired shares of TM Research Co., Ltd., establishing both as associated companies of the FOR-A Group.
- 2013.5
- FOR-A Europe S.r.l. established in Milan (Italy).
- 2013.9
- Acquired shares of and established Flovel Co., Ltd., as an associated company of the FOR-A Group.
- 2014.1
- FOR-A YEM Eletex Honored with 2013 Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award presented by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) for the development, standardization and productization of the HD serial digital interface.
- 2014.8
- Acquired shares of and established Agiv (India) Private Limited, as an associated company of the FOR-A Group.
- 2017.1
- FOR-A honored with 2016 Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award for its work on "Live Production Technology Beyond HD to Achieve Non-Interpolated Video for Instant Replay."
- 2017.1
- Established FOR-A South East Asia Office in Hong Kong.
- 2017.8
- Launched InSync Technology Products Ltd, a joint venture with InSync Technology (UK).
- 2018.1
- Established Matsuyama Office (Japan).
- 2019.1
- Made a strategic Investment in Variant Systems Group (USA).
Products
- 2010
- LTR-100HS (LTO-5 Video Archiving Recorder)
Won the "PICK HIT Award" of the Broadcast Engineering magazine.
- 2011
- VFC-7000 "Flash EYE" (HD Variable Frame Rate Camera)
Won the "STAR Award" of the TV Technology USA magazine.
- 2012
- World's first high-speed camera capable of filming at 4K resolution introduced.
Won the "Best of IBC", "STAR Award(NAB)", "BIRTV Award", "MPTE Award" and "Government Video Salute".
- 2014
- FA-505 Multi Channel Signal Processor introduced with up/down/cross-conversion and HDR & WCG support as well as FA-1010 features.
- 2015
- HVS-2000 Flagship 7M/E Video Production Switcher released supporting 4K resolution.
- 2018.9
- SOM-100 (integrated SDI/IP control and monitoring software)
Software solution for integrated control and monitoring in mixed SDI (baseband) and IP video environments.
- 2019.3
- USF-10IP Series (IP Gateway)
Video-over-IP module for video and audio signal conversion between IP formats and between IP and SDI. Ideal for building a mixed baseband/IP system.
2020
Company
- 2020.3
- Affiliated company Flovel Co., Ltd. honored with the 2019 Technology & Engineering Emmy® Award for its early efforts in the development of ultra-high sensitivity cameras and their contributions to the market.
Products
- 2020.3
- MFR-4100/6100 (Routing Switcher)
Support from SD-SDI to 12G-SDI. Designed for solid performance and fault tolerance as a core system component.