Kawaguchi Metal Industries Co., Ltd. was established as a casting company that was representative of the casting town Kawaguchi in 1948, and was listed on the 2nd section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1961. Subsequently, while attempting to strengthen the design and production of bridge bearings and diversifying operations into related device businesses, the company formed a group of specialist manufacturers that each had excellent capabilities in injection-molding machines, hydraulic cylinders, and precision castings. Moreover, as a top manufacturer of bridge bearings and as the leading company in a group of advanced material and equipment manufacturers in the fields of formed and fabricated materials, civil engineering construction materials, and industrial machinery, Kawaguchi Metal Industries continued striving unceasingly to develop new technologies and new products designed to support Japan’s industrial development.
In October 2008, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Kawaguchi Metal Industries Co., Ltd., Kawakin Holdings Co., Ltd. was established as the Group holding company to enhance the Group’s cohesive power and display the Group’s comprehensive strengths to a greater degree. Then, in April 2009, Kawakin Holdings reorganized the businesses of Group companies and advocated a Group vision calling for a transformation to an engineering solutions-based corporate group centered on integrated technological capabilities. This marked the start of a new history for the Kawakin Holdings Group.
(Top) The Company’s plant at the time of founding
(Bottom) The present headquarter building
| 1948 | Kawaguchi Metal Industries Co., Ltd. was established and started steel casting production. |
|---|---|
| 1954 | Received the Meehanite metal production license from Meehanite Metal Corporation in the U.S. |
| 1958 | Began design and manufacture of bridge bearings. |
| 1961 | Listed on the 2nd Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange. |
| 1967 | Opened Osaka Plant in Itami City. |
| 1971 | Began production of ductile cast iron for hydraulic equipment. |
| 1975 | Began exports of special steel castings to the U.S.A. |
| 1977 | Invested in Matsuda Seisakusho Co., Ltd. (present consolidated subsidiary) |
| 1979 | Invested in Koyo Seiki Co., Ltd. (present consolidated subsidiary) |
| 1985 | Opened Hyogo Plant. (present roll-shaped processing plant of steel bars) |
| 1989 | Kawaguchi Metal Material Co., Ltd. invested in Nonagase Co., Ltd. (present consolidated subsidiary) Hayashi Lost-Wax Industries Co., Ltd. invested in Dalian Hayashi Lost-Wax Industries Co., Ltd. (present consolidated subsidiary) |
| 1990 | Opened an expansion joint shop in Hyogo Plant. |
| 1994 | Invested in Hayashi Lost-Wax Industries Co., Ltd. (present consolidated subsidiary) |
| 1996 | Opened a rubber bearing manufacturing line in the Head Plant. |
| 1997 | Began manufacture and sale of modular-type expansion joints and bridge retention systems. |
| 1999 | Installed a 2,400-ton large-scale double-axis testing machine at the Head Plant. |
| 2000 | Began manufacture and sale of spring confined Pb rubber bearings (SPR). Installed a 1,000-ton large-scale double-axis testing machine at the Head Plant. Obtained the ISO9001international quality standard certification. |
| 2002 | Obtained certification for seismic isolation equipment for seismic isolation rubber isolators for buildings and sliding bearings. |
| 2004 | Established Kawaguchi Techno Solution Co., Ltd.(Design of vibration control equipment for buildings) (present consolidated subsidiary) |
| 2005 | Began manufacture and sale of hybrid bearings. Advanced Vibration Control System obtained Performance Evaluation conducted by the Building Center of Japan (BCJ). |
| 2007 | Opened the Ibaraki Plant, a base for R&D and production of seismic isolation equipment. |
| 2008 | Established Kawakin Holdings Co., Ltd. as a group holding company. |
| 2009 | Kawaguchi Metal Industries Co., Ltd. was split. | 2010 | Kawakin Core-Tech Co., Ltd. opened Hanoi Representative Office. |
| 2012 | Kawakin Core-Tech Co., Ltd. established KAWAKIN CORE-TECH VIETNAM CO., LTD. in Hung Yen, Vietnam. (present consolidated subsidiary) Kawakin Core-Tech Co., Ltd. opened the Sapporo Plant, a base for manufacture of expansion joint. |
| 2016 | Established Kawakin USA, Inc. in Nevada, the U.S.A. (present consolidated subsidiary) Kawakin USA, Inc. invested in Dynamic Isolation Systems, Inc. (present consolidated subsidiary) Invested in Kawakin Die Casting Industries Co., Ltd. (former Tokyo Rika Kogyo Co., Ltd.) (present consolidated subsidiary) |
