Nakata

What Nakata does

Nakata MFG. CO., LTD. (株式会社中田製作所) is a Japanese industrial machinery manufacturer founded in 1908 in Kobe and now headquartered in Osaka's Yodogawa-ku. The company specializes in cold roll-forming equipment for steel pipe production, with a product portfolio centered on three proprietary technologies: the FFX Mill (Flexible Forming Mill), which uses NC-controlled involute curve rolls to achieve full roll interchangeability across pipe diameters with a 1:3 outer-diameter ratio; the ODF Mill (Orbital Die Forming Mill), which uses linked die columns orbiting on infinite tracks to enable lubrication-free forming of ultra-thin to thick-walled large-diameter pipes; and RollBox, a universal-roll square tube forming machine that reduces roll investment costs by up to 90% and changeover time by up to 80%. Underlying these products is a proprietary FEM-based 3D elastic-plastic forming analysis software developed in-house, integrated with 3D CAD into a CAX system for design validation and structural analysis. The company also provides a comprehensive line of ancillary equipment — entry section components, fin pass and sizing mills, welding equipment, cutoff machines (iCUT, milling traveling, cold saw), water pressure testers, and conveyors — enabling delivery of complete pipe production lines.

The company operates a direct enterprise field sales model targeting pipe manufacturers globally, with approximately 80% of sales exported to international customers across 14 or more countries including the US, Germany, China, Korea, and Vietnam. Revenue derives primarily from one-time capital equipment sales of custom-engineered production lines, supplemented by technical services including installation guidance, operational training, remote diagnostics, and after-sales support. Customer segments are horizontally distributed across energy/oil & gas (OCTG and line pipes), automotive (structural and hydroformed components), chemical processing (stainless steel laser-welded pipes), and construction (square structural tubes). The company is privately held and controlled by the founding Nakata family, with Mitsuru Nakata as President and CEO, Ikuo Nakata as COO, and Feizhou Wang as CTO. Nakata has received multiple awards including the Okochi Memorial Prize for Production (2010) and ISO 9001:2015 certification. The company has 62 employees, 49% of whom work in technical and R&D functions.

Name

Nakata

Legal name

株式会社中田製作所

Website

https://nakata-mfg.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nakata MFG. CO., LTD. (株式会社中田製作所) is a Japanese manufacturer founded in 1908 that designs and sells proprietary cold roll-forming mills (FFX, ODF) and square tube forming equipment (RollBox) to global pipe manufacturers serving energy, automotive, chemical, and construction industries, with approximately 80% of sales exported internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Pipe-Forming Machinery

NAICS

Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Sheet Metal Machinery (Laser/Plasma/Waterjet Cutting, Punching) (IMAHADAD)

Keywords

• Cold roll forming machines
• Pipe manufacturing equipment
• Steel tube forming mills
• Square tube forming
• Industrial forming machinery

Headquarters

HQ city

Tanigawa

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industrial Machinery Sales (Pipe Forming Equipment): Sale of cold roll forming pipe manufacturing equipment including FFX Mill, ODF Mill, RollBox, cutoff machines, finishing equipment, and complete production line systems. Equipment is custom-engineered per customer specification. Revenue is project-based, one-time capital expenditure for customers.
2. Technical Services and After-Sales Support: Includes installation guidance, operational training, quality management consulting, remote maintenance, and after-sales technical support. ISO9001:2015 certified quality management services. Also includes remote diagnostic services via internet.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nakata manufactures and sells custom-engineered cold roll-forming equipment used by steel pipe and tube producers to form round and square pipes from sheet or strip steel. Its core product lines are the FFX Mill (Flexible Forming Mill), ODF Mill (Orbital Die Forming Mill), and RollBox square tube forming machine, accompanied by supporting equipment such as pipe cutting machines, helical edge millers, accumulators, water pressure testers, and conveyors. The company also provides installation supervision, commissioning, operator training, and after-sales technical and remote maintenance services under ISO9001:2015 quality management.

Product overview

Nakata MFG Co., Ltd. (株式会社中田製作所) is a cold roll forming machine manufacturer specializing in pipe and tube manufacturing equipment. The core product portfolio centers on the FFX Mill (Flexible Forming Mill) and ODF Mill (Orbital Die Forming Mill) as the main forming technologies, supplemented by RollBox for square tube forming. These are complemented by a comprehensive line of auxiliary equipment including entry section (accumulators, helical edge millers), mill section components (fin pass mills, destist stands, sizing mills, welding equipment, turks heads), cutoff section (iCUT, milling traveling cutoff machines, cold saw machines), and finishing section (water pressure testers, conveyors). The company has delivered over 80 FF series machines to 14 countries worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FFX Mill: Flexible Forming Mill — NC-controlled, fully roll-interchangeable cold roll forming mill using involute curve technology, producing pipes from 2-inch to 30-inch diameter with products delivered to 14+ countries worldwide.
• ODF Mill
• RollBox
• FFX
• FF Roll
• iCUT
• Helical Edge Miller

Products and services

• FFX Mill (Flexible Forming Mill) NC-controlled roll forming mill with involute curve movable rolls enabling complete roll interchangeability for pipe diameters across a 1:3 outer diameter ratio. Uses FEM analysis-based design for optimal forming and high-quality pipe production. For industrial pipe manufacturers producing round tubes from small to large diameters.
• ODF Mill (Orbital Die Forming Mill) Innovative forming method using linked dies orbiting on infinite tracks to form metal tubes, with dies equivalent to a large-diameter roll in the forming zone. Enables lubrication-free forming of ultra-thin to thick-walled large-diameter pipes. For manufacturers producing high-grade steel and difficult-to-form materials including austenitic stainless.
• RollBox (Square Tube Forming Machine) Universal roll-type square pipe forming machine that enables roll cost reduction by allowing all rolls including side rolls to be driven, fundamentally solving thrust force issues in square tube production. Reduces roll investment and running costs by up to 90% and roll changeover time by up to 80%. For manufacturers of square structural tubes for construction and general applications.
• iCUT Steel Pipe Cutting Machine Next-generation steel pipe cutting machine using ultra-hard chip saw blades in a dual-blade circular saw configuration. Ultra-compact, lightweight, and rigid rotary saw cutting machine for 2-10 inch pipes with automatic cutting condition calculation software.
• Milling Traveling Cutoff Machine High-performance rotary linear cutoff machine available in 2-blade (4-20 inch) and 4-blade (16-26 inch) configurations for cutting round and square pipes in various steel grades.
• Cold Saw Traveling Cutoff Machine Single-blade cold saw traveling cutoff machine for small diameter pipes (2-5 inch), suitable for carbon steel, alloy steel, high-tensile steel, and stainless steel.
• Water Pressure Tester Production-focused hydraulic tester with efficient air discharge during water injection and real-time intelligent control panel for reduced cycle time. Used by pipe manufacturers for finished-pipe pressure qualification.
• Helical Edge Miller High-speed, heavy-cutting helical edge miller using inclined cutter axis to achieve high cutting capability with small-diameter cutters through spiral and elliptical effects. Provides superior cutting capacity, tool life, and material yield rate in pipe production entry lines.
• Accumulator Horizontal and vertical accumulators for stable coil supply to mill lines, synchronized with line speed changes and designed to prevent coil surface damage. Standalone entry-section equipment for coil handling in pipe production.
• Conveyor Device Factory layout-matched conveyor designed for high productivity adapted to mill line cycle time. Standalone finishing-section equipment for pipe production facilities.
• Technical Services and After-Sales Support Installation guidance, operational training, quality management consulting, remote maintenance, and after-sales technical support delivered under ISO9001:2015-certified quality management. Includes remote diagnostic services via internet. For Nakata equipment customers worldwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Roll inventory reduced by approximately 50% compared to conventional mills
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered regional and core.

• EPI CO., LTD. (Korea)regionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Joint venture company established in Korea in 2011 to expand market presence in the Korean pipe manufacturing market. Enables local support and sales for Korean customers.
• Mitsubishi Hitachi Metal Machinery (三菱日立製鉄機械)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Business partnership agreement signed in 2009 for collaborative development and promotion of pipe manufacturing equipment technology. Both companies leverage complementary expertise in rolling mill and manufacturing technology.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NUMALLIANCE: French specialist in roll forming, tube forming and bending machinery, directly competing with Nakata's FFX Roll, ODF, and RollBox products for similar pipe and profile manufacturers.
• Tishken: US roll forming equipment manufacturer (now part of Formtek Group) producing tube mills, cutoffs, and roll forming machinery directly comparable to Nakata's mill and cutoff product lines.
• Profilroll Umformtechnik: German specialist in cold roll forming machines and profile production lines; sells into the same pipe and tube manufacturer customer base as Nakata with comparable forming technology.
• AddisonMckee: US/UK supplier of tube forming, bending and end-finishing equipment; competes in the same pipe manufacturer procurement set as Nakata for cold-formed and structural tube mills.
• Formtek Group (Yoder): US roll forming equipment maker (Yoder, Lockformer, Tishken and others); directly comparable to Nakata in custom roll forming mills for tube, pipe, and structural sections.

Broad incumbents

• Danieli: Italian manufacturer of metalmaking and steel processing equipment including tube and pipe mills; overlapping customer base of large pipe producers with a much wider product breadth than Nakata.
• SMS group: German global leader in metallurgical plant and rolling-mill equipment for steel and non-ferrous metals; competes with Nakata in pipe and tube mill lines but at a vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.
• ANDRITZ: Austrian plant equipment supplier serving metals processing including strip processing and tube mill equipment; addresses similar pipe/tube manufacturers as Nakata but across many more process steps.
• Kobe Steel (KOBELCO): Japanese industrial conglomerate with welding, steel pipe manufacturing, and industrial machinery businesses; an adjacent incumbent because it both operates pipe production and supplies related industrial equipment in overlapping Japanese and Asian markets.
• The Japan Steel Works: Major Japanese heavy industrial machinery maker with steel, energy, and plastics machinery divisions; an indirect incumbent peer given geographic and customer overlap with Nakata's Japanese and Asian pipe mill customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nakata-mfg-co-ltd

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nakata