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"Yamaha" redirects here. For other uses, see Yamaha (disambiguation).

Yamaha Corporation

Native name

Romanizedname

Yamaha Kabushiki-gaisha

Type

Public (K.K.)

Traded as

TYO: 7951
OTCQX: YAMCY

Industry

Conglomerate

Founded

October 12, 1887

Headquarters

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

Key people

Torakusu Yamaha, founder

Takuya Nakata,[1] President & Representative
Director

Products

Musical Instruments, Audio/Video, Electronics,

Computer related products,Motorcycles,
Commuter Vehicles & Scooters, Recreational
Vehicles, Boats,Marine Engines, Personal
Watercraft, Electrically Power Assisted Bicycles,
Automobile Engines, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle,
Golf Cars, Power Products, Pools, Compact
Industrial Robots,Wheelchairs, Parts including
clothing, helmets

Revenue

US$ 15.9 billion (2010)[2][verification needed]

US$ 189.3 million (2010)[verification needed]

Operating
income

US$ 225.5 million (2010)[verification needed]

Net income

Number of

19,688 (2013)

employees

Subsidiaries

Yamaha Motor Company

Website

yamaha.com

Yamaha Corporation ( Yamaha Kabushiki Gaisha ) (/jmh/ or /

?

jmh/; Japanese pronunciation: [jamaha]; TYO:7951) is a Japanese multinational

corporation and conglomerate based in Japan with a very wide range of products and services,
predominantly musical instruments, electronics, motorcycles and power sports equipment.
Contents
[hide]

1 History

2 Corporate mission

3 Products
o

3.1 Synthesizers and samplers

4 Sports teams

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

History[edit]

The headquarters of Yamaha Corporation

Yamaha was established in 1887 as a piano and reed organ manufacturer by Torakusu
Yamaha as Nippon Gakki Company, Limited ( Nippon Gakki Seiz
Kabushiki Kaisha ) (literally Japan Musical Instrument Manufacturing Corporation)
?

inHamamatsu, 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 logoa trio of
interlocking tuning forks.[3]
After World War II, company president Genichi Kawakami repurposed the remains of the company's
war-time production machinery and the company's expertise in metallurgicaltechnologies to
the manufacture of motorcycles. The YA-1 (AKA Akatombo, the "Red Dragonfly"), of which 125 were
built in the first year of production (1954), was named in honour of the founder. It was a 125cc,
singlecylinder, two-stroke, street bike 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 1955,[4] the success of the YA-1 resulted in the
founding of 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, and vibraphones), as well as a leading manufacturer
of semiconductors,audio/visual, computer related products, sporting goods, home appliances,
specialty metals and industrial robots.[5]
In 1989, Yamaha shipped the world's first CD recorder.[chronology citation needed] Yamaha purchased Sequential
Circuits in 1988.[6] It bought a majority stake (51%) of competitor Korg in 1987, which was bought out
by Korg in 1993.[7]
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.[8]
It acquired German audio software manufacturers Steinberg in January 2005, 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. [9] Kemble & Co.
Ltd, the UK piano sales & manufacturing arm was unaffected.[10]
On December 20, 2007, Yamaha made an agreement with the Austrian Bank BAWAG P.S.K. Group
BAWAG to purchase all the shares of Bsendorfer,[11] intended to take place in early 2008. Yamaha
intends to continue manufacturing at the Bsendorfer facilities in Austria. [12] The acquisition
of Bsendorfer was announced after the NAMM Show in Los Angeles, on January 28, 2008. As of
February 1, 2008, Bsendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH operates as a subsidiary of Yamaha Corp. [13]
Yamaha Corporation is also widely known for their music teaching programme that began in the
1950s.
Yamaha electronic have proven to be successful, popular, and respected products. 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.[14] Other noteworthy Yamaha electronics include
the SHS-10 Keytar, a consumer-priced keytar which offered MIDI output features normally found on
much more expensive keyboards.
Other companies in the Yamaha group include:

Bsendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH, Vienna, Austria.

Yamaha Motor Company

Yamaha Fine Technologies Co., Ltd.

Yamaha Golf Cart Company

Yamaha Livingtec Corporation

Yamaha Metanix Corporation

Yamaha Music Communications Co., Ltd.

Yamaha Pro Audio