Hakko is undoubtedly one of the world leaders in high quality soldering and desoldering tools, providing great value, reliable products that can be used for years without a hitch. Today this global company is not just known for their unmatched range and the excellence of their products but also for being a leader in the development of the industry. While most other manufacturers of soldering technology are happy to remake the same old blueprint, Hakko is one of the few companies that actively invests in research and development.
Hakko began as a tiny factory of no more than 10 people in 1952, and within 6 years was selling soldering equipment not just to the Japanese market but also internationally. Since then it has grown into the foremost provider of innovative soldering equipment in the world, suppling mammoth companies like Boeing, Flextronics, Samsung, Nokia and Philips. The list is never ending.
At the root of this massive expansion and today their domination of the industry comes from not just following industry trends but actually investing large resources into research and development so that Hakko could lead the industry in design and technology.
Some of the innovations introduced by Hakko include:
- Hakko ceramic heating element: Traditional heating elements for the soldering iron were made out of nichrome wire which, while reliable, took a long time to heat up and cool down. To combat this Hakko lined the ceramic with a metal conductor, which allowed the iron to heat up or cool down extremely quickly, while still being able to withstand temperatures as high as 700 degrees Celsius.
- Hakko soldering station: This was perhaps the greatest invention of the Hakko brand. Originally soldering didn’t have temperature stabilisation or removable tips, something that the Hakko brand introduced in its Hakko 936 soldering station range.
- Hakko soldering tip: After extensive research and development Hakko also managed to improve the soldering tips, which historically suffered from an air gap between the heating element and the soldering tip, affecting performance. The brand fixed this by simply combining the soldering tip, heating element and temperature indictor into a single device that significantly improved the performance of the device as a whole.
So what makes Hakko the world leader in soldering equipment today?
- Active research and development. As we’ve discussed extensively, the greatest strength of the Hakko brand is their ability to take what’s already there and make it better in a way that no other company in the soldering industry can.
- Leading industry standard levels. Another big win for Hakko is that they are not just an innovator but genuinely create some of the highest quality products on the market. This can be boiled down to their stringent industry standard levels which are now used as a model by many other companies in the industry.
- Excellent customer service. Finally, it can be all well and good to have a fantastic product but if your relationship with your customers isn’t strong, then often it can be difficult to succeed on the market. Luckily, Hakko has some of the best customer service in the industry, providing real support for their products.
