Foster Electric
Akishima, Tokyo, Japan · founded 1949
One of the world's largest OEM/ODM loudspeaker and transducer makers and the parent of the audiophile-favorite Fostex brand; famously the unbranded manufacturer behind many big-name speakers and earphones (in the 1980s it was said the average U.S. home held several Foster-built products under different brand names).
Foster Electric Company, Limited is a Japanese OEM/ODM manufacturer of loudspeakers, audio transducers, and finished audio equipment, founded in June 1949 in Shibuya, Tokyo (originally as the Shinano Acoustic Research Institute / Shinano Onkyo) by Shigehiro Nishimura and Hiroaki Shinohara, adopting the Foster Electric Co., Ltd. name in 1959. It grew into one of the world’s largest OEM loudspeaker and transducer suppliers, listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1962 and moving to the exchange’s Prime Market in 2022. Foster is the parent of the Fostex consumer/pro-audio brand (launched as a trade name in 1973; Fostex Corp. merged into Foster in 2003) and reports roughly 30% global share of in-vehicle speakers. As of September 2025 it employed about 15,865 people group-wide and was led by president Kazuhiro Kishi.
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At a glance
- Type
- Supplier
- Founder
- Shigehiro Nishimura and Hiroaki Shinohara
- Founded
- 1949
- Headquarters
- Akishima, Tokyo, Japan
- Price range
- Budget → flagship
- Makes / sells
- OEM/ODM loudspeakers, micro speakers, earphone and headphone drivers, finished earphones, headphones and headsets, audio transducers and vibration actuators, in-vehicle/automotive speakers, buzzers, TV and industrial speakers
- Known for
- OEM/ODM audio manufacturing, micro speakers and transducers, automotive speakers (~30% global share), mass-production acoustics, vibration actuators, earphone/headphone driver supply
- Website
- www.foster-electric.com
Notable products
- Fostex brand (subsidiary) — Foster's consumer and professional audio brand — studio monitors, microphones, and the T50RP / TH-series headphones widely used in the modding community
- OEM earphones for Apple iPod/iPhone — Cited by Wikipedia as manufactured by Foster Electric as an OEM
- In-vehicle speaker systems — Foster reports ~30% global market share; supplies automotive OEMs
Supplies
Notable brands that use their components:
Sources: Foster Electric — History (official) · Foster Electric — Company Overview/Profile (official) · Fostex — Wikipedia (OEM customers, Foster relationship) · The Worldfolio — interview (auto speaker ~30% global share)