ABOUT KYB

History

KYB History

KYB has developed with the changes and demands of the era transforming its organizational structure.

From 1919 to 1980
Kayaba Research Center was founded by Shiro Kayaba.
Kayaba Seisakusho was established for manufacturing of hydraulic dampers, catapults, etc. for aircraft.
Kayaba Manufacturing Co., Ltd., was established.
Gifu works (presently Gifu South Plant) was established.
Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd., was established (based on the Corporate Reconstruction and Reorganization Act).
Kayaba Auto Service Co., Ltd. (presently KYB Engineering and Service Co., Ltd.), was established.
Nihon Koki Co., Ltd., was established for engineering and sales of mining equipment.
Company's stocks were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Urawa special purpose vehicle works was established.
Gifu North Branch Plant (presently Gifu North Plant) was established.
Capital participation in Yung Hwa Machinery Industrial Co., Ltd., in Taiwan.
Kumagaya Plant was established.
Miye Plant was established.
Sales subsidiary was established in the United States
Sagami Plant was established.
Shock absorber production joint venture was established in Indonesia.
Nippon Power Steering Co., Ltd., was established.
Deming Application Prize was awarded for TQC activities.
From 1981 to 1999
Shock absorber manufacturer in Spain was jointly acquired.
Shock absorber production manufacturing joint venture was established in Malaysia.
MacGregor-Kayaba, Ltd. was established as a joint venture for engineering and sales of marine equipment.
Company name "KYB" in Japanese changed from kanji (Chinese characters) to katakana (Japanese Characters).
Shock absorber manufacturing subsidiary was established in the United States.
Sales subsidiary was established in Germany.
Shock absorber manufacturing jointly venture was established in Thailand.
Joint venture was established in Spain for manufacture of hydraulic components for automobiles.
Joint venture was established in Thailand for manufacture of hydraulic components for automobiles.
TPM Special Award was granted to four plants, including Gifu North Plant. The same award was granted to Urawa Plant in October 1997.
Gifu South (Motorcycle Parts) Plant obtained ISO 9001 certification; All other plants obtained the same certification by March 1998.
Cadac Co., Ltd., became a wholly owned subsidiary
From 2000 to 2005
Gifu South Plant obtained ISO 14001 certification; All other plants received the same certification by February 2001.
Gifu North Plant obtained QS 9000 certification.
Shock absorber manufacturing subsidiary in the United States became a wholly owned subsidiary.
Motorcycle shock absorber manufacturing subsidiary was established in Vietnam.
Automobile shock absorber manufacturing subsidiary was established in China.
Automobile shock absorber manufacturing subsidiary was established in Czech
Urawa plant was closed and operations were merged into the Sagami plant.
Industrial-use hydraulic equipment manufacturing subsidiary was established in China.
Stock acquisition in KYB Trondule Co., Ltd., which became a subsidiary.
Systems Products segment split from the company, and succeeded to Nihon Koki Co., Ltd. Merged with Kayaba Rae Stage Co., Ltd., and new company Kayaba System Machinery Co., Ltd. was established.
Sales office is established in China
Sales office is established in Mexico
Sales office is established in Thailand
New management principles and vision is established.
"KYB" was assumed to be an alias name of the Company.
From 2006 to 2019
Stock acquisition in Takako Industries, Inc., which became a subsidiary.
Established Gifu East Plant.
Joint ventures for manufacturing and sales of railroad equipment and motorcycle suspensions established in China.
Automobile shock absorber manufacturing and sales company established
European Regional Headquarters established in Germany
Regional Headquarters established in China
Aftermarket hydraulic shock absorbers sales company established in Panama.
Yanagisawa Seiki MFG CO., LTD., became a wholly owned subsidiary. Trade name changed to KYB-YS CO., LTD.
Brazilian local subsidiary made a joint venture company with Mando Corporation of Korea in order to expand operations in South America.
Operations started at Developmental Experiment Center, an exclusive test tracks for automobile and motorcycle components.
American subsidiary and indirectly owned subsidiary merged. Trade name changed to KYB Americas Corporation.
Machine Tools Center established in Japan
Electronics Technology Center established in Japan
KYB Europe Headquarters B.V. established in the Netherlands
Aftermarket sales company established in Russia
Hydraulic components manufacturing and sales company established in Mexico
Motorcycle hydraulic oil damper manufacturing and sales company established in India
Joint venture aftermarket automotive suspension spring manufacturing and sales company established in the Czech Republic
Acquired shares in a concrete construction equipment maker in India and established subsidy
Hydraulic component manufacturing and sales company established in Indonesia
Established KYB Motorcycle Suspension Co., Ltd., for the manufacture and sale of motorcycle hydraulic shock absorbers
Aftermarket sales company established in Brazil
Established Chennai Sales Office in India
KYB Advanced Manufacturing Spain, S.A.U., an automobile shock absorber manufacturing and sales company in Spain, became a wholly owned subsidiary.
The trade name was changed to KYB Corporation.
Established Aircraft Components Division, independent from HC Operations.
KYB-CADAC Co., Ltd. merged with KYB-YS Co., Ltd.
KYB Hydraulics Industry (Zhenjiang) Ltd. merged with KYB Industrial Machinery (Zhenjiang) Ltd.
KK Hydraulics Sales (Shanghai) Ltd. merged with KYB Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
KYB Asia Co., Ltd. merge with KYB Technical Center(Thailand) Co., Ltd., and established KYB Asian Pacific Corp.Ltd.
Manufacturing company in Brazil became a wholly owned subsidiary and established KYB Manufacturing do Brasil Fabricante de Autopecas S.A.
Joint venture for manufacture, sales,research and development of automotive electronic power steering systems and other automotive parts Hubei Henglong & KYB Automobile Electric Steering System Co., Ltd. established in China.
Established KYB Stage Engineering Co., Ltd.
From 2020 to 2025
Established KYB-CS Co., Ltd.
Kayaba System Machinery Co., Ltd. was merged into KYB Corporation.
Certified as an "Excellent Energy-Saving Company (S Class)" by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
KYB Engineering and Service Co., Ltd. was merged into KYB Corporation.
Transferred listing from the Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.
Adopted "Kayaba" as the Company's common name in Japan.
KYB-CS Co., Ltd. was merged into KYB Stage Engineering Co., Ltd., and Kayaba CS Co., Ltd. was established.
KYB-YS Co., Ltd. was merged into KYB Corporation.
Adopted "Kayaba" as the Company's trade name in Japan.
Changed the official corporate name of KYB Trondule Co., Ltd. to KYB Nagaoka Co., Ltd.
Dissolved the joint venture in India for concrete construction equipment (KYB Conmat Pvt. Ltd.).
Acquired all shares of Chita Kogyo Co., Ltd., making it a wholly owned subsidiary.
Established a sales company in Thailand, SIAM KYB SALES CO., LTD., in partnership with Siam Motor Parts Co., Ltd.