FLOBAL CORPORATION
Corporate brand
UnclaimedJapanese specialist trading company dealing in piping components and related industrial machinery, tools and MRO supplies, operating its own private brands and B2B e-commerce channels.
Last updated September 28, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile yet.
Overview
FLOBAL CORPORATION (フローバル株式会社) is a Japanese specialist trading company headquartered in Nishi-ku, Osaka, dealing in piping components and related industrial machinery, equipment, tools and consumables. Its business is defined as the development and sale of various equipment, parts and materials, and it belongs to the wholesale industry. The company traces its origins to 1910, when founder Senichi Okada established Okada Seisakusho in Kita-ku, Osaka as a foundry producing large cast-iron valve parts for the Osaka municipal waterworks. Over more than a century it evolved from a manufacturer of lubrication devices into a trading house, and today it combines distribution of third-party products with its own private-brand (PB) manufacturing. FLOBAL's product range centers on pipe fittings, valves, hose clamps and other piping components, and extends into related equipment, tools and supplies used in factories and construction sites (indirect materials or MRO). The company operates four in-house brands: FLOBAL for pipes, fittings and valves; PROSTYLE TOOL for machinery such as compressors, air hoses and pumps; REHOMA for residential water-related equipment; and mizu no hana for design-oriented washroom and water fixtures. Its PB products are developed under a fabless/OEM model: planning, design and quality control are handled in-house while manufacturing is entrusted to partner factories, mainly in Asia. The company also holds domestic sales rights for selected overseas partner manufacturers' products. Sales are fundamentally B2B and are organized into three channels: wholesale, retail and overseas. Retail includes the B2B e-commerce site haikanbuhin.com (配管部品.com) and the pro-shop chain Setubi Mart (設備マート). Customers span specialist trading companies, manufacturers, residential construction and equipment contractors, home centers and online retailers. The group consists of FLOBAL CORPORATION and two consolidated overseas subsidiaries, Flobal Korea Co., Ltd. in South Korea and Fulu (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd. in China; it previously established Flobal (Asia) Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. FLOBAL listed on the TOKYO PRO Market in December 2021. The company holds ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001 certifications and a PrivacyMark.
History
FLOBAL CORPORATION traces its history to June 1910, when founder Senichi Okada established Okada Seisakusho in Kita-ku, Osaka as a foundry manufacturing large cast-iron valve parts used by the Osaka municipal waterworks. The company later succeeded in producing lubrication devices by press working ahead of others in Japan, and by the early Showa period these were widely used in machine tools and agricultural machinery. During World War II it became a designated military factory and prospered, but air raids and the subsequent defeat destroyed its factories and assets. After the war, the second-generation head Yutaka Okada restarted the business as a trading company, leveraging the goodwill of the old name. By entrusting manufacturing to cooperating factories, the company developed its own-brand lubrication devices and hydraulic piping products, selling them domestically and exporting to Taiwan and Southeast Asia. In the 1970s, with the liberalization of foreign exchange, the company shifted emphasis from exports to imports and began importing overseas manufacturers' products, concluding a sales agency agreement with a leading European hose clamp manufacturer. In the 1980s these hose clamp products were successively adopted by automobile and construction machinery manufacturers and grew into a mainstay imported product; at the same time, sales of hydraulic, pneumatic and general piping products expanded. In the 1990s the company turned stainless steel piping components into its own brand using a fabless approach, and these continue to hold a certain domestic share. In the 2000s it began selling indirect materials such as tools, supplies and consumables used in factories and construction sites, transforming itself from a wholesale-only business and launching internet-based B2B mail order. From the 2010s it opened B2B online shopping sites in South Korea equivalent to those in Japan, and in Japan it commercialized directly operated pro-shops. It also added housing equipment to its own brands and began exploring new markets. Key corporate milestones include the 1944 incorporation of Okada Seisakusho as Nihon Chuyuki Kogyo Co., Ltd. with capital of 210,000 yen; the 1946 change of name to Okada Sangyo Co., Ltd. and change of business to machinery and tool wholesaling; the 1956 start of hydraulic piping fittings; the 1980 start of hose clamp import and sales; and a 1981 capital increase to 30 million yen. In 1996 the company launched its first private-brand product, a stainless steel ball valve. In 1997 Yoshitaka Okada became president. In April 2008 the company changed its name to FLOBAL CORPORATION, and in October 2008 it released the e-commerce site haikanbuhin.com. In 2009 it opened the dedicated ordering site Rakunet for existing customers. In 2011 it established Flobal (Asia) Pte. Ltd. in Singapore. In 2012 it opened the Seibu Logistic Center in Yao, Osaka. In 2013 it established Flobal Korea Co., Ltd. in Seoul and released the GlobalMRO.com e-commerce site. In 2014 it established Fulu (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd. in Shanghai. In 2017 capital was increased to 90 million yen and the Haikan PRO Yao store opened. In 2018 the Osaka Showroom opened in Suminoe-ku, Osaka. In 2019 the Haikan PRO Amagasaki store opened and the Yokohama Showroom opened. In 2020 the Setubi Mart Adachi Hanahata store opened and PrivacyMark certification was obtained. In 2021 the head office moved to Nishi-ku, Osaka, the company was certified as a Health and Productivity Management Outstanding Organization, and in December it listed on the TOKYO PRO Market. In 2022 the Setubi Mart Moriguchi store opened, and in 2023 the Setubi Mart Hirano store opened.
- 2023
Opens Setubi Mart Hirano store
- 2022
Opens Setubi Mart Moriguchi store
- 2021
Moves head office to Nishi-ku, Osaka; certified as Health and Productivity Management Outstanding Organization; lists on TOKYO PRO Market
- 2020
Opens Setubi Mart Adachi Hanahata store; obtains PrivacyMark certification
- 2019
Opens Haikan PRO Amagasaki store and Yokohama Showroom
- 2018
Opens Osaka Showroom in Suminoe-ku, Osaka
- 2017
Capital increased to 90 million yen; opens Haikan PRO Yao store
- 2014
Establishes Fulu (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd. in Shanghai
- 2013
Establishes Flobal Korea Co., Ltd. in Seoul; releases GlobalMRO.com
- 2012
Opens Seibu Logistic Center in Yao, Osaka
Products and positioning
A century-old specialist trading company in piping and equipment that combines wholesale distribution with fabless private-brand manufacturing, serving B2B customers through wholesale, retail and overseas channels.
FLOBAL brand piping components
Pipes, fittings, valves and related piping parts
PROSTYLE TOOL
Compressors, air hoses, pumps and other machinery and tools
REHOMA
Residential water-related equipment
mizu no hana (水の花)
Design-oriented washroom and water fixtures
Stainless steel ball valve
First private-brand product launched in 1996
Hose clamps
Imported from a European partner manufacturer; adopted by automotive and construction machinery makers
Sources6 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/flobal · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled