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Company History

  1. 1926

    Company founded
    Giichi Yamashita established Yamashita Seisakusho as a sole proprietorship in Nishikiryō-cho, Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, and began manufacturing agricultural machinery parts

  2. 1941

    Giichi Yamashita was called to military service, and his wife, Kinu Yamashita, took over and continued the business

  3. 1944

    The factory was completely destroyed in an air raid

  4. 1947

    Following his demobilization,
    Giichi Yamashita restarted Yamashita Seisakusho at its original site

  5. 1961

    Established Koyo Nukimono Co., Ltd.
    with a capital of 500,000 yen.
    Giichi Yamashita was appointed as the Representative Director.

  6. 1962

    Yoshinobu Yamashita established the Koyo company emblem
    Began manufacturing ratchet gears for summer beds.

  7. 1972

    Yoshinobu Yamashita succeeded Giichi Yamashita as Representative Director.

  8. 1973

    A new 4-story head office building was completed on the adjacent lot.
    The company name was changed to Koyo Giken Co., Ltd.
    Capital was increased to 10 million yen.

  9. 1977

    Developed metal fittings for cushioned floor chairs (currently known as floor chairs).

  10. 1978

    Launched the all-purpose scissors "BriCut".

  11. 1987

    Constructed a new 3-story head office building in Kusabe, Nishi-ku, Sakai City, and relocated from Nishikiryō-cho, Sakai-ku.

  12. 1998

    Masunobu Yamashita established “Heart & Technology” as the company’s management philosophy.
    Capital was increased to 60 million yen.

  13. 2001

    LEGMAN received the Interzum Award in Cologne, Germany.

  14. 2003

    Masunobu Yamashita succeeded Yoshinobu Yamashita as Representative Director.

  15. 2004

    Expanded and renovated the new head office building at the Sakai Factory.

  16. 2006

    Established KOYO China Sales office and factory in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, China.
    (China Sales Office & Factory, total floor area: 2,500 m²)

  17. 2008

    Established Dongguan Koyo Trading Co., Ltd. with a registered capital of HK$6.5 million.
    (total floor area: 5,000 m².)

  18. 2013

    Established the local subsidiary KOYO Germany GmbH with a capital of €225,000.
    The company is located in Stadttor,
    a landmark building in Düsseldorf, Germany.

  19. 2014

    Selected as one of the “Global Niche Top 100 Companies”
    by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
    Purchased adjacent land,
    increasing the total head office site area to 14,076 m².

  20. 2018

    Established KOYO Hanoi Limited in Hanoi, Vietnam with a capital of US$1.5 million.
    (Vietnam Factory: site area 13,835 m², total floor area 5,876 m²)

  21. 2020

    Increased capital of KOYO Hanoi Limited by US$1.3 million and carried out the second phase of construction. (Total floor area: 7,690 m²)

  22. 2024

    Entered into a capital and business alliance with Tachibana Seiki Co., Ltd.,
    making it a group company of our corporation.

    Tachibana Seiki Co., Ltd.
    2-3-25 Wakae Higashi-machi,
    Higashiosaka-shi, Osaka 578-0935, Japan