Ichikawa Jewel Company – the Japanese manufacturer behind Jelco, which has been manufacturing phono cartridges, tonearms and turntable accessories for just on 100 years – has closed its doors.
President and CEO of Ichikawa Jewel, Takako Ichikawa, sent an email to all his distributors advising them of the closure, which he attributed to a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and the difficulty of maintaining the company’s engineering tools.
“The novel coronavirus pandemic continues to have a significant impact on our production lines and so I have decided to terminate our business effective immediately,” wrote Ichikawa.
“For the past few years, the business has endured a decline in labour productivity due to health issues arising from our ageing skilled engineers. Furthermore, due to our obsolete mechanical equipment, performing maintenance on them has become difficult. I would like to thank everyone for their warm support that was extended to us throughout the years. I would also like to express in writing my deepest gratitude for your kindness and wish you all the best for your continued development.”
