Dowa Holdings


Dowa Holdings is a Japanese nonferrous metals manufacturer. The company is a component of the Nikkei 225 stock index.

History

Fujita-gumi, the forerunner of DOWA, was established by three brothers from Yamaguchi prefecture in 1881. The brothers had personal connections with influential members of the government, so in 1884 they bought the Kosaka mine, from which they expanded their business into various fields, centered on the coal mining business. After the purchase, Fujita-gumi increased its capital and invested heavily in skilled labor and equipment. By 1888 the Kosaka mine became Japan's top producer of silver.
In 1900, an engineer at Kosaka succeeded in extracting copper by accessing the kuroko deep in the mine. After that, the Kosaka changed its focus from silver to copper, and in 1907 became Japan's largest top producer.