[1][2] Librex had roots in Nippon Steel's Electronics and Information Systems Division (EISD) back in Japan, which starting in 1986 had formed joint ventures with several high-profile American computer companies.

The company's notebooks received praise in the technology press, but a fierce price war in the market for laptops in the early 1990s combined with dwindling profit margins compelled Nippon Steel to dissolve Librex in 1993.

[4][5] Librex was the first venture in the United States for Nippon Steel's Electronics and Information Systems Division (EISD), which had sold software and hardware only in Japan.

[3][7][8] Discussions within Nippon Steel to form an international computer company began in 1987 with the commissioning of EISD to research the manufacture of workstations and laptops.

[9] Librex contracted the mass manufacturing of the company's initial product lineup, a duo of notebook computers, to an unnamed American firm.

[21][23][24]: 238 Although Librex's laptops continued to receive high marks for their build quality, the company saw pressure in the crowded notebook market by the beginning of 1992.

[26] Librex pulled their products from the market that month but continued to support customers until March 1993 while they discussed selling their capital and intellectual property to potential buyers.

[5] Dan Crane, vice president of sales and marketing for Librex, reflected in 1996 that Nippon Steel's remote management imposed handicaps in selling Librex's products at attractive prices: "Nippon Steel simply didn't have the cultural infrastructure needed to compete here ... [having a] rather cool, ultraslim notebook for 1992 with quantities and prices that were [arbitrarily] set in 1991", in part due to management honoring the initial quotes it gave to retail and direct sales partners, refusing to ask for adjustments after the fact.