Organizational
Transition

Kawasaki Genealogy

1878

Shozo Kawasaki opens (establishes) Kawasaki Tsukiji Shipyard (Tokyo).

  • 1881

    Shozo Kawasaki opens Kawasaki Hyogo Shipyard in Higashidemachi, Hyogo Prefecture.

  • 1886

    Shozo Kawasaki borrows government-operated Hyogo Shipyard and merges it with Kawasaki Hyogo Shipyard, renames it Kawasaki Dockyard
    Consolidation of Kawasaki Tsukiji Shipyard in Tokyo with Hyogo

  • 1896

    Establishment of Kawasaki Dockyard Co., Ltd. (Kobe). Appointment of Kojiro Matsukata as the first company president.

  • 1897

    Launch of Iyomaru (Kawasaki Dockyard’s first ship)

  • 1902

    Completion of first dry dock

  • 1906

    Opening of Unga Branch Works (Later called Hyogo Works)

    Completion of Japan’s first submarine

  • 1908

    Completion of Yodo, the first large warship by a private shipyard

  • 1911

    Completion of first Japanese-made steam locomotive

  • 1918

    Establishment of Aircraft Department at Hyogo Works

  • 1919

    Spinning off of Shipping Division and its establishment as Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.

  • 1922

    Completion of our first airplane (Type Otsu 1 Surveillance Airplane)

  • 1926

    Construction of Eitai Bridge in Tokyo

  • 1928

    Spinning off as Hyogo Works and its establishment as Kawasaki Rolling Stock Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

    Appointment of Fusajiro Kajima as the second company president.

  • 1933

    Appointment of Hachisaburo Hirao as the third company president

    Manufacture and sale of Rokkogo automobiles begins

  • 1934

    Delivery of Pashina type steam locomotive for South Manchuria Railway's Ajiago Super Express.

  • 1935

    Appointment of Shosuke Itani as fourth company president.

  • 1937

    Spinning off of Aircraft Division and its establishment as Kawasaki Aircraft Co., Ltd.

  • 1939

    Company name changes to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.

  • 1941

    Start of production on Hien fighter aircraft

  • 1950

    Spinning off of Steel Manufacturing Division and its establishment as Kawasaki Steel Corporation

    Appointment of Toshio Tezuka as fifth company president.

  • 1954

    The first Kawasaki Bell 47D-1 helicopter makes its maiden flight.

  • 1961

    Appointment of Masashi Isano as sixth company president.

  • 1964

    Delivery of Series 0 Shinkansen electric train to Japan National Railways

  • 1969

    Merger between Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kawasaki Rolling Stock Manufacturing, and Kawasaki Aircraft

    Birth of the first Japanese-made industrial robot, Kawasaki-Unimate 2000

    Launch of H1 motorcycle

    Appointment of Kiyoshi Yotsumoto as seventh company president.

  • 1972

    Launch of Z1 motorcycle

    Merger with Kisha Seizo Co., Ltd.

  • 1973

    Jet Ski sales begin

  • 1975

    Production of motorcycles begins in the United States

  • 1976

    Development of PU200 gas turbine generator

  • 1977

    Appointment of Zenji Umeda as eighth company president.

  • 1979

    Maiden flight of BK117 helicopter

  • 1981

    Delivery of Japan’s first LNG carrier

    Appointment of Kenko Hasegawa as ninth company president.

  • 1983

    Delivery of 325 subway train cars (R-62) for the New York subway

  • 1986

    Production of rolling stock begins in the United States

  • 1987

    Appointment of Hiroshi Ohba as tenth company president.

  • 1988

    Production of construction machinery begins in the United States

  • 1989

    Receiving order for Akashi Kaikyo Bridge main tower construction work

  • 1991

    Success with tunnel boring machines in the excavation of the English Channel underwater railroad tunnel

  • 1996

    Completion of excavation of Tokyo Bay Aqua-line by world’s largest shield machines

    100th anniversary of establishment

  • 1997

    Appointment of Toshio Kamei as eleventh company president.

  • 1998

    Construction and installation of the Kobe-side caisson, Awaji-side main tower, and stiffening girders for the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

  • 2000

    Appointment of Masamoto Tazaki as twelfth company president.

  • 2001

    Completion of the United States' only state-of-the-art, fully-integrated railcar manufacturing rolling stock factory

    Introduction of an internal company system and an executive officer system

  • 2002

    Spinning off of Shipping Division and its establishment as Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation

    Spinning off of Precision Machinery Division (Hydraulic Machinery Division) and its establishment as Kawasaki Precision Machinery Ltd.

  • 2003

    Spinning off of Crushing Equipment Division and its establishment as EarthTechnica Co., Ltd. (joint venture with Kobe Steel, Ltd.)

  • 2004

    First shipment of 700T train to Taiwan High Speed Rail

  • 2005

    First shipment of 700T train to Taiwan High Speed Rail

    Appointment of Tadaharu Ohashi as thirteenth company president.

  • 2006

    Spinning off of Environment Division and its establishment as Kawasaki Environmental Engineering, Ltd.

  • 2007

    Kawasaki Environmental Engineering and Kawasaki Plant Systems merge, and the company name changes to Kawasaki Plant Systems, Ltd.

    Kawasaki Green Gas Engine achieves world’s highest power generation efficiency of 48.5%

    Rollout of prototype planes for the next-generation fixed-wing patrol aircraft (XP-1), and the next-generation transport aircraft (XC-2)

  • 2008

    EarthTechnica Co., Ltd. becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary

  • 2009

    Spinning off of Construction Machinery Division and its establishment as KCM Corporation

    Appointment of Satoshi Hasegawa as fourteenth company president.

  • 2010

    Re-merging of Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation, Kawasaki Precision Machinery, and Kawasaki Plant Systems

  • 2013

    Appointment of Shigeru Murayama as fifteenth company president.

    Medicaroid Corporation, a marketing company for the development of medical robots, is jointly established with Sysmex Corporation

  • 2015

    Launch of the Ninja H2/H2R motorcycles, which use the world’s one and only supercharged engine in a mass-produced vehicle

    Transferring of KCM Corporation shares to Hitachi Construction Machinery Group

  • 2016

    Appointment of Yoshinori Kanehana as sixteenth company president.

  • 2017

    Announcement of new robot system, Successor, which reproduces movements of skilled engineers through remote cooperation

  • 2018

    Demonstration testing commences on world’s first hydrogen cogeneration system in an urban area of Kobe Port Island

  • 2020

    Appointment of Yasuhiko Hashimoto as seventeenth company president.

    First Japanese-made robotic-assisted surgery system, hinotori Surgical Robot System, receives manufacture and sales approval

  • 2021

    Spinning off of Rolling Stock Division and its establishment as Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

    Spinning off of Motorcycle & Engine Division and its establishment as Kawasaki Motors, Ltd.

  • 2022

    Completion of demonstration tests for maritime transport, loading, and unloading of hydrogen by worldʼs first liquefied hydrogen carrier, Suiso Frontier

  • 2023

    Launch of Kawasaki’s first electric motorcycles, Ninja e-1 and Z e-1

  • 2024

    Announcement of the world’s first strong hybrid motorcycles, the Ninja 7 Hybrid and Z7 Hybrid

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