Founding days (pre-history)
1918~1945

May 1918

Japan's first aircraft manufacturer, Nippon Aircraft Manufacturing Company was founded by Seibe Kawanishi, the founder of our former entity Kawanishi Aircraft Company Limited, and Chikuhei Nakajima, the founder of Nakajima Aircraft Co., Ltd. (now Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.)

February 1920

This company was dissolved soon after, but Seibe later founded Kawanishi Machinery Company, appointing his second son Ryozo as its top manager. In response to young engineers' ardent zeal for "another chance to manufacture aircraft," Kawanishi established an Aircraft Department within the company a few years later, setting about the independent design and manufacture of aircraft.

June 1923

Kawanishi then established a commercial aviation company, the third of its kind in Japan, rendering service to the private air transportation business of the country for the six years until he transferred airline routes to Japan Air Transport Co., Ltd. in line with national policy.

November 1928

Being fascinated by the aircraft business, Ryozo established Kawanishi Aircraft Company by takin over the Aircraft Department business of Kawanishi Machinery Company. His new company produced a series of aircraft that have become legendary in aviation history.

Postwar recovery
1945~1960

December 1945 Aircraft manufacture banned

Despite the total ban on aircraft manufacturing, Kawanishi did not give up hope. In February of the following year, he launched a new organization in order to clarify the objectives of his converted business. Tapping into the technology and skills acquired from aircraft manufacturing, the company began manufacturing daily commodities, etc. in the hopes of alleviating the shortage of goods and foods.

November 1949

Shin Meiwa Industry Company Limited (later renamed as ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd.) was established. Based on President Ryozo Kawanishi's guiding mottos (strenuous devotion, harmonious cooperation, service to the country through technology), the new company started up a series of successful new businesses with a focus on "wa (harmony)."

April 1952 Ban on aircraft manufacturing lifted

As the scope of its business expanded to include the development of social infrastructures, ShinMaywa established three key businesses of special purpose trucks, industrial machinery, and aircraft during the years of rapid economic growth.

 

January 1955

President Ryozo Kawanishi passed away.

Toward an affluent Japan
1960-1971

May 1960

Became a member of the Hitachi Group in order to build a solid business foundation with an eye on full-fledged entry into the aircraft business.

February 1962

Toshio Itoh became the 2nd president. True to his words, "Management is courage," Itoh decided in September of the following year to divest the motorbike business, which enjoyed a high market penetration but remained unprofitable. Meanwhile, he established a new factory and expanded a sales office network, exploring new opportunities for future developments.

August 1962

Listed in the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Securities Exchange. Promoted to the First Section five years later.

May 1971

In order to quickly respond to customer demands while fulfilling an increasing number of orders, in 1971 ShinMaywa Engineering, Ltd., a specialist after-sales service provider of car parking systems, was established. In the following year, its after-sales service division for special purpose trucks was made independent to establish a new subsidiary (now ShinMaywa Auto Engineering, Ltd.).

Onto the global arena
1971-1989

May 1973

Yoshio Yagi became the 3rd president.
Amid difficult conditions in the aftermath of the oil shocks, we sought opportunities in overseas markets by shifting into high gear exports of special purpose trucks and aircraft passenger boarding bridges.

June 1981

Shinji Tamagawa became the 1st president with an engineering background.
In January 1983, he set forth the Corporate Philosophy that begins with the phrase "As a Technology-oriented Company" and incorporated "energy saving," "laborsaving," and "systemization" into the products, in an effort to meet social requirements for higher value added.

December 1988

A joint venture was established in Thailand (our very first overseas operation), followed by sales offices in the U.S.A. and Singapore.

Establishing the ShinMaywa brand
1990-2009

April 1992

New corporate logo mark established

June 1993

Shiko Saikawa became the 5th president.
In October of the same year, the Environmental Systems Division was established. With this move, the ShinMaywa Group set its corporate goal of aiming to grow as a "life environment-creating company," thus driving business management and product development with environmental considerations and social contributions in mind.

June 2000

Jushi Ide became the 6th president.

He made further improvements to leading products in each market. In order to enhance sales and after-sale services of industrial machinery overseas, operational bases were established in Shanghai (China) and Bangkok (Thailand).

May 2004

Became independent from the Hitachi Group.

April 2006

Tadashi Kaneki became the 7th president.

He realigned group companies so as to preferentially reallocate management resources into key businesses. In 2009, joint ventures were established in India, Singapore, and China to begin production for the global market. With this, the number of group companies outside of Japan surpassed the number of those within Japan.