The () is a
multinational corporation and
conglomerate based in Japan with a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments, motorcycles, power sports equipment, and electronics.
History
The headquarters of Yamaha Corporation
Yamaha was established in 1887 as a
piano and
reed organ manufacturer by
Torakusu Yamaha as (Literally Japan Musical Instrument Manufacturing Co.) in
Hamamatsu,
Shizuoka prefecture, and was incorporated on October 12, 1897. The company's origins as a musical instrument manufacturer is still reflected today in the group's logo—a trio of interlocking
tuning forks.
After
World War II, company president Genichi Kawakamisaki repurposed the remains of the company's war-time production machinery and the company's expertise in metallurgical technologies to the manufacture of
motorcycles. The YA-1 (aka Akatombo, the "Red Dragonfly"), of which 125 were built in the first year of production (1958), was named in honor of the founder. It was a 125cc, single cylinder, two-stroke, streetbike patterned after the German
DKW RT125 (which the British munitions firm,
BSA, had also copied in the post-war era and manufactured as the
Bantam and
Harley-Davidson as the
Hummer). In 1959, the success of the YA-1 resulted in the founding of the Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
Yamaha has grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments (including
pianos,
"silent" pianos,
drums,
guitars,
brass instruments,
woodwinds,
violins,
violas,
celli,
vibraphones, and
saxophones), as well as a leading manufacturer of
semiconductors,
Audio/Visual, computer related products, sporting goods,
home appliances, specialty metals and
Industrial robots.
In October 1987, on its 100th anniversary, the name was changed to
The Yamaha Corporation.
In 1989, Yamaha shipped the world's first
CD recorder. Yamaha purchased
Sequential Circuits in 1988 and bought a significant share (51%) of competitor
Korg in 1989–1993.
In 2002, Yamaha closed down its
archery product business that was started in 1959. Six archers in five different
Olympic Games won gold medals using their products.
It acquired German Audio Software manufacturers
Steinberg in 2004, from
Pinnacle Systems.
In July, 2007, Yamaha bought out the minority shareholding of the Kemble family in Yamaha-Kemble Music (UK) Ltd, Yamaha's UK import and musical instrument and professional audio equipment sales arm, the company being renamed Yamaha Music U.K. Ltd in autumn 2007. Kemble & Co. Ltd, the UK piano sales & manufacturing arm was unaffected.
On December 20, 2007, Yamaha made an agreement with the Austrian Bank BAWAG P.S.K. Group BAWAG to purchase all the shares of
Bösendorfer, intended to take place in early 2008. Yamaha intends to continue manufacturing at the Bösendorfer facilities in Austria.The acquisition of
Bösendorfer was announced after the
NAMM Show in Los Angeles, on January 28, 2008. As of February 1, 2008, Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH operates as a subsidiary of Yamaha Corp.
Yamaha Corporation is also widely known for their music teaching programme that began in the 1980s.
Yamaha electronic pianos continue to be a successful, popular and respected product. For example the
Yamaha YPG-625 was given the award "Keyboard of the Year" and "Product of the Year" in 2007 from
The Music and Sound Retailer magazine .
Other companies in the Yamaha group include:
- Yamaha Fine Technologies Co., Ltd.
- Yamaha Livingtec Corporation
- Yamaha Metanix Corporation
Corporate mission
is a Japanese word, used by Yamaha to describe their corporate mission. Kandō in translation describes the sensation of profound excitement and gratification derived from experiencing supreme quality and performance.
