Arakawa & Co., Ltd. of Japan was formed in 1980 to manufacture and market the Arakawa Gripper. Arakawa currently manufactures over 1 million pieces per year, the majority of which stay in Japan. Concentrating mainly in product development, sales and marketing, Arakawa opened a new assembly facility in 1985 in suburban Tokyo (Tokorozawa), which increased production capacity to about 10,000 pieces per day.
United Arrows, Inc. was formed in 1986 to exclusively handle sales of Arakawa Grippers to the foreign (non-Japanese) markets.
At the same time, United Arrows America, Inc. [d.b.a. Arakawa Hanging Systems International (AHSI)] was incorporated. AHSI exclusively handles sales of Arakawa Grippers to the American markets.
United Arrows Europe was formed in 1992 to establish a sales network in Europe.
PRODUCTS
Refining a well-engineered idea into simple design, Arakawa chose the recognizable and patented "bullet" shape for its design versatility and structural integrity.
The SF16 was the original piece, and was complemented in stages by customer requests for innovative ways to suspend products from cable.
Commercial Line - Filatii Sigma
Arakawa developed the commercial line of Grippers based upon the SF16. You will note its shape in several of the products in this line. The commercial line was then broadened with the advent of the TF series, which all feature a turnbuckle action, allowing the user to quickly and easily tension cables.
Additionally, there are items such as the Roll Gripper, which are versatile enough to be used for signage, banners, or graphics, and the Mark II, which all feature Arakawa's patented side entry technology. A Mark II Gripper can be attached to the cable on the midpoint so that the user can add or remove shelving, signage, banners or graphics at will.
Art Clair(Follow the hyperlink for more information)
Developed as the "Little Brother" to display systems in use in museums throughout the world, the Art Clair art hanging systems is ideal for galleries, frame or poster shops, or the individual collector who wants to change art displays quickly, without damaging walls. Because no nail holes must be filled, walls don't have to be repainted. This means no down time for galleries while they repaint. A new show can be hung in a matter of minutes.
The wall mounted rail allows the user to move art horizontally, while the cables hanging from the rail allow vertical positioning. Art can be displayed anywhere on a wall where the rail has been mounted. Arakawa hooks and cable can also be used in conjunction with existing picture frame moulding or other types of rail.
Tension Gripper(Follow the hyperlink for more information)
In 1992, Arakawa developed the Tension Gripper, which integrates the Arakawa Gripper with a strong tensioning spring designed to take up slack in cable, and thus eliminate the need for post-installation retensioning. TG has revolutionized the industry by allowing on-site customization of cable lengths, so that contractors can make necessary adjustments to designs without delaying projects and adding time and expense.
ArtSafer Hook(Follow the hyperlink for more information)
In 1995, Arakawa released the ArtSafer hook for museums and galleries. Integrating the Arakawa Gripper with sophisticated circuitry, the ArtSafer hook provides low-cost security in a self-contained, battery-operated display hook.
Developed as a supplemental security system, museums, galleries, restaurants and hotels are finding the ArtSafer Hook invaluable in protecting their publicly displayed art works.
ArtSafer System
Expanding on the ArtSafer Hook, the ArtSafer system was developed in 1996. Using microphones tuned to the frequencies emitted by the ArtSafer hook, the ArtSafer system allows museums or galleries to minimize expensive security by providing a low-cost security system in a centralized location. (Not yet available in the US)