- published: 29 Jan 2015
- views: 19092
Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (川崎重工業株式会社, Kawasaki Jūkōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha?) (/kaʊ.əˈsɑːki/; TYO: 7012) is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chūō-ku, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.
The company is named after its founder Shōzō Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa.
Even though it originally started out as a shipbuilding company, its most visible consumer product lines are its motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles, although the company and its subsidiaries also manufacture personal water craft, ships, industrial plants, tractors, trains, small engines, and aerospace equipment (including military aircraft). Subcontract work on jet aircraft (including jumbo jets) has been done for Boeing, Embraer, and Bombardier.
Kawasaki is active in a diverse range of the aerospace industry. The Company is a contractor for the Japanese Ministry of Defense and has built aircraft such as the C-1 transport aircraft, T-4 intermediate jet trainer, and the P-3C antisubmarine warfare patrol airplane. It is currently developing two large, next-generation aircraft, the XP-1 maritime patrol airplane and the XC-2 transport aircraft. Kawasaki also builds helicopters, including the BK117, jointly developed and manufactured with MBB. It also produces the CH-47J / JA helicopter.