Of the Japanese wheel names an overseas enthusiast is likely to know, Weds is the one whose corporate structure is genuinely surprising. It is a publicly listed company — Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market, code 7551 — and its business description is not what you would guess.
Weds describes its business as the planning, development and sale of automotive wheels and parts. Not the manufacture. And its single largest shareholder is Chuo Seiki, the wheel maker whose products Weds started out distributing in 1969.
This profile is built from Weds’ own published corporate documents, read in Japanese.
The Short Version
- Founded 12 October 1965 in Osaka as Nippo Co., supplying accessories to Nissan’s sales arm.
- Became a wheel company in 1973 by acquiring another firm’s wheel division, and took the Weds name then.
- States that its 1977 “Racing Forge” was Japan’s first forged three-piece aluminium wheel.
- Publicly traded since 1997. Capital of ¥852.75 million. Head office in Ota-ku, Tokyo.
- Brands include WedsSport, Kranze, Maverick, LEONIS, NOVARIS, RIZLEY, F ZERO and the Super Star line.
What the Official Record Actually Says
Weds did not begin as a wheel manufacturer. It began in 1965 as a supplier of fitted accessories to Nissan’s sales network, and in 1969 became the western-Japan distributor for a custom wheel called the Elstar — made by Chuo Seiki.
The company became a wheel business proper in November 1973, when it took over the wheel division of Nihon Sealant, renamed itself Weds and moved to Tokyo. Four years later it launched the product that is the most interesting line in its entire history.
The 1977 Claim
Weds states that its “Racing Forge,” launched in April 1977, was Japan’s first forged three-piece aluminium wheel.
We are reporting that as the company’s own claim rather than as independently established fact — but it is worth sitting with, because of what else was happening at the time:
| Year | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Weds launches “Racing Forge” | Weds official history |
| 1977 | WORK founded (March) | WORK official history |
| 1979 | WORK opens its three-piece factory | WORK official history |
| 1986 | RAYS installs its first forging press | RAYS official history |
By the dates each company publishes about itself, Weds was doing forged multi-piece wheels in the same year WORK was incorporated and nine years before RAYS bought a forging press. For a brand that enthusiasts abroad tend to rank below both, that is a reframe.
Weds Plans and Sells. Others Manufacture.
The company profile states Weds’ business as the planning, development and sale of wheels and automotive parts. Manufacturing sits with group companies and partners rather than with the parent:
- Super Star Co., Ltd. — established by Weds in 2006 to take over the three-piece wheel manufacturing and sales business of the former Super Star company. Built its Kokubu plant in 2007.
- Tokyo Sharin — 70% acquired in 2015, wholly owned from 2018.
- Chuo Seiki — Weds’ largest listed shareholder, and the maker of the wheels Weds distributed in 1969.
None of this makes a Weds wheel less real. But it does mean the honest answer to “who makes this?” is more layered than for WORK or ENKEI, both of which operate their own plants.
It Is Not Only a Wheel Company
The official history records the 1987 merger with Daishin Shoji, which extended the business into industrial machinery; the 1996 opening of a car accessories retail chain; the 2003 spin-off of the retail, mobile-phone and industrial machinery businesses into a subsidiary; and — in 2005 — the opening of a combined welfare facility for the elderly in Anjo, Aichi, later extended in 2010.
A listed wheel brand that also runs mobile phone shops and a care home is not the picture most enthusiasts have. It is, however, exactly the kind of diversified structure that lets a company keep a low-volume performance wheel line alive through downturns.
The Brand Lines
- WedsSport — the motorsport and performance line, established 1984. SA-series, RN-series, TC-series.
- Kranze — luxury and VIP-oriented, often multi-piece with deep lips.
- Maverick — premium large-diameter fitments.
- LEONIS — the high-volume road line; probably the single most common Weds wheel in Japan.
- NOVARIS, RIZLEY, F ZERO, Gyraft, NeoCarrow — further road and utility lines.
- Super Star — the three-piece brand held as a group company.
What This Means When You Are Buying
1. Weds publishes a discontinued-model list. Its own site maintains a list of wheels no longer in production. For anyone buying used, that is an unusually useful official resource — it tells you whether the set you are looking at can still be extended or matched from new stock.
2. The range is very wide. LEONIS at the volume end and Kranze or Super Star at the multi-piece end are different products at different price points from the same company. “A Weds wheel” says less about construction than “a WORK wheel” does.
3. Being listed means the numbers are audited. Weds publishes securities reports and financial results. If you want to know whether the company behind your wheels will still exist in ten years, this is the only one of the major Japanese wheel brands where you can simply read the filings.
What We Could Not Verify
- The 1977 “Japan’s first forged three-piece” claim. It is Weds’ own statement in its own corporate history. We found no independent confirmation and no competing claim, but we have not verified it against a third party.
- Employee count and revenue. Not on the company profile page. Both will be in the company’s published securities reports, which we did not open for this article.
- Which plants produce which models. Weds does not publish a model-by-model manufacturing map.
- The origin of the name “Weds.” Not explained in the material we reviewed. The company was called Nippo until 1973.
FAQ
Is Weds a Japanese company?
Yes. Founded in Osaka in 1965, headquartered in Ota-ku, Tokyo, and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market under code 7551.
Does Weds make its own wheels?
Its stated business is planning, development and sales. Manufacturing sits with group companies including Super Star and Tokyo Sharin, and with partners. Chuo Seiki, a wheel manufacturer, is its largest shareholder.
What is WedsSport?
Weds’ motorsport and performance brand, established in 1984 when the company entered motorsport in earnest.
Is Kranze the same as Weds?
Kranze is one of Weds’ brand lines, aimed at luxury and VIP fitments. Same company.
What is Super Star?
A three-piece wheel brand. Weds established a company under that name in 2006 to take over the manufacturing and sales business of the former Super Star firm; it is a consolidated subsidiary.
How do I know if a Weds model is discontinued?
Weds publishes a discontinued-model list on its own website. Check there before assuming a set can be matched or extended.
Sources
Every figure in this article comes from Weds’ own corporate disclosures — the company profile and company history pages of weds.co.jp — read in the original Japanese. Where those documents are silent, we have said so rather than filling the gap from secondary sources.
Related Guides
- WORK Wheels — founded the same year Weds launched Racing Forge
- RAYS — a company history told in forging presses
- ENKEI — the global casting multinational
- ADVAN Racing & AVS — a wheel brand inside a tyre company
- Toyota Chaser JZX100 — a classic Kranze and WedsSport application
Looking for a specific set? We specialise in genuine Japanese wheels — RAYS, Volk, Enkei, SSR, WORK, BBS Japan and the rare discontinued sets that never left the country. Tell us the wheel, the fitment, the year — our team searches our networks until we find it.