History of Business Activities

Growth Period: Building Core Technology (1981–1989)

1981

AMDEK Corporation was established in Osaka as a subsidiary of the Roland Corporation with the goal of expanding further upon a wealth of electronic music technology, beginning with the manufacture of electronic music instrument kits.

AMDEK

1983

Changed the corporate name to Roland DG Corporation (DG stands for Digital Group).

1985

Established a subsidiary in Belgium (currently Roland DG EMEA N.V.).

Moved the company headquarters to Takaoka-cho, Hamamatsu.

1988

Moved the company headquarters to a new office in Okubo-cho, Hamamatsu.

Established a subsidiary in Australia (Roland DG Australia Pty. Ltd.).

Roland DG

Transition Period: Building Core Markets (1990–1999)

1990

Established a subsidiary in the U.S.A. (Roland DGA Corporation).

1992

Established a factory in Shin-Miyakoda, Hamamatsu.

Miyakoda Office

1996

Moved the company headquarters to Shin-Miyakoda, Hamamatsu.

Roland DGA Corporation established the group’s first Roland University (currently Roland DG Academy).

1999

Received ISO 9001 certification.

Constructed factory blocks at the Miyakoda headquarters.

Growth Period: Establishment of Business Model (2000–2009)

2000

Received ISO 14001 certification.

Started digital cell production using the Digital Yatai.

Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Second Section.

Digital Yatai

2001

Roland DGA Corporation received ISO 9002 certification.

Established Modeling R Corporation to expand the 3D business.

2002

Established a subsidiary in the U.K. (Roland DG (U.K.) Ltd.).

Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section.

2005

Established a subsidiary in Spain (Roland Digital Group Iberia, S.L.).

Established a new Miyakoda factory.

Miyakoda factory

2006

Established a subsidiary in Italy (Roland DG Mid Europe S.r.l.).

Renewed the Digital Yatai and started as D-Shop.

2007

Implemented IMS (Integrated Management System), incorporating ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

2008

Established the group’s first Roland DG Creative Center at the subsidiary in Italy.

Launched Roland DG Care.

Expanded Miyakoda factory.

Established a subsidiary in Denmark (Roland DG North Europe A/S).

New Founding (2010–2019)

2011

Established the first foreign manufacturing subsidiary in Thailand (Roland Digital Group (Thailand) Ltd.).

2012

Established a shared services subsidiary in Spain (Roland DG EMEA, S.L.).

Established a subsidiary in China (Roland DG (China) Corporation).

Established a subsidiary in Korea (Roland DG Korea Inc.).

2013

Established a subsidiary in Brazil (Roland DG Brasil Ltd.).

Held the first-ever SE Awards of the World contest for service engineers.

2014

Established a subsidiary in the Netherlands (Roland DG Europe Holdings B.V.), a holding company providing fund management of group companies in Europe.

Established a subsidiary in Russia (Roland DG RUS LLC). *Business suspension (announced on March 15, 2022)

2017

Transferred the 3D business to a newly-established subsidiary, DGSHAPE Corporation.

DGSHAPE started operation focusing on the dental, medical and 3D digital fabrication businesses.

Portfolio Transition Period (2020–2025)

2022

Established a joint venture company (CERAWEI TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD) engaged in binder-jet 3D printer business in China.

2023

Commenced operations at the new Thailand factory building and transferred production functions.

Established a subsidiary in Lithuania (UAB DG DIMENSE).

Completed relocation and commenced operations at the newly built head office building, consolidating the previous head office and the Miyakoda office.

Thailand factory / Roland DG Head office

2024

Delisted the company’s shares.

DGSHAPE Corporation established a sales subsidiary DGSHAPE DENTAL LIMITED.

Conducted a corporate merger with XYZ K.K. as the surviving company and Roland DG Corporation as the dissolving company and changed the corporate name to Roland DG Corporation.

History of Product Development

Growth Period: Building Core Technology (1981–1989)

1982

Released the CMU-800 Computer Music, which allowed the user to compose and automatically perform music using a computer.

Released the DXY-100 pen plotter, which could be connected to a computer to produce architectural drawings and schematics.

CMU-800 / DXY-100

Top : CMU-800
Bottom : DXY-100

1983

Released the DXY-800 A3-size pen plotter.

1985

Released the DPX-2000 A2-size pen plotter.

DPX-2000

DPX-2000

1986

Released the first of the CAMM-3 series of 3D milling machines, the PNC-3000.

PNC-3000

PNC-3000

1987

Released the first of the CAMM-2 series of engraving machines, the PNC-2000.

PNC-2000

PNC-2000

1988

Released the first of the CAMM-1 series of cutting plotters, the PNC-1000.

PNC-1000

PNC-1000

Transition Period: Building Core Markets (1990–1999)

1995

Released the Color CAMM PNC-5000, the world’s first thermal transfer color printer/cutter.

1996

Released the STIKA STX-7 compact cutting plotter and MODELA MDX-3 3D milling machine, targeting the hobby and crafts markets.

MDX-3

MDX-3

1997

Released the CAMMJET CJ-70, the world’s first wide-format inkjet printer/cutter, capable of printing water-based pigment ink.

Released the PC-60 thermal transfer printer/cutter.

PC-60

PC-60

1998

Released the world’s first 6-color, 1440-dpi wide-format inkjet printer, the Hi-Fi JET FJ-50.

FJ-50

FJ-50

Growth Period: Establishment of Business Model (2000–2009)

2002

Released the SOLJET PRO II series (SJ-740/SJ-540/SC-540/FJ-540/CJ-540).

SC-540

SC-540

2003

Released ECO-SOL INK, an environmentally friendly eco-solvent ink that could print directly onto uncoated media.

Released the VersaCAMM SP-300, an inkjet printer/cutter designed to enhance on-demand production of small jobs.

ECO-SOL INK

ECO-SOL INK

2004

Released the SOLJET PRO II SJ-1000EX grand format inkjet printer, capable of 2600 mm print width.

2007

Released the VersaCAMM VP series inkjet printer/cutter, capable of in-house production of promotional materials.

VP-540

VP-540

2008

Released the VersaUV LEC-300, UV-LED inkjet printer/cutter, capable of multi-layered printing on a wide variety of substrates.

LEC-300

LEC-300

2009

Released the SOLJET PRO III XC-540MT, the world’s first inkjet printer/cutter, capable of printing metallic silver ink.

XC-540MT

XC-540MT

New Founding (2010–2019)

2010

Released the first of the DWX series of dental milling machine.

2011

Released the iModela iM-01 digital hobby mill.

Released the VersaUV LEF-12, desktop-size UV-LED inkjet printer.

LEF-12

LEF-12

2012

Released the METAZA MPX-90M, direct part marking device for the medical industry.

2013

Released the SOLJET PRO 4 XF-640, the Company’s fastest inkjet printer to date.

XF-640

XF-640

2014

Released the monoFab series, the company’s first 3D printer, the ARM-10, and a new milling machine, the SRM-20.

Released the Texart RT-640, dye sublimation transfer printer for exclusive use in textile printing.

Launched medical instrument traceability and maintenance support system project run in conjunction with Hamamatsu University School of Medicine.

ARM-10

ARM-10

2015

Released the Company’s first dental wet mill and a new dry mill.

2018

Released the dental mill with DWINDEX performance visualization software to help dental labs run a more productive and efficient business.

Released the LD-80, the world’s first laser foil decorator.

Released cotodesign design and print management software for customizing store merchandise on demand using customers’ favorite designs and photos.

DWINDEX

DWINDEX

Portfolio Transition Period (2020–2025)

2021

Launched the free cloud-based Roland DG Connect service.

Released the VersaSTUDIO BN-20A desktop printer/cutter for a new era of work styles.

VersaSTUDIO BN-20A

BN-20A

2023

Released the AP-640 resin printer from the TrueVIS series.

TrueVIS AP-640

AP-640

2025

Released the PB-600/PB-400 powder 3D printers capable of producing ceramic products.

Released the DIMENSE DA-640, a digital printing solution that enables embossed texture expression.

Powder 3D Printer PB-600 / 下:DIMENSE DA-640

Top :  PB-600

Bottom : DA-640