Facts about Yamaha
During the 1950s and 1960s, with experience gained during World War II, Yamaha began the manufacture of boats, bows for archery, and other products made from fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP).
In 1968, Yamaha launched the Yamaha DT-1, the world's first true off-road motorcycle, creating a new genre known today as trail bikes.
Nearly three-fourths of Yamaha Corporation's net sales are derived from its musical instrument and audio products operations.
At the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, a Yamaha piano and organ received the Honorary Grand Prize.
Yamaha continued to expand into the music field, launching high-quality hand-wound phonographs in 1922.
Yamaha's acquisition of Bцsendorfer was announced after the NAMM Show in Los Angeles, in January, 2008.
In 1970, non-factory "privateer" teams dominated the 250 cc World Championship, and Great Britain’s Rodney Gould won the title on a Yamaha TD2.
After World War II, the fourth president of Yamaha, Gen-ichi Kawakami (????, Kawakami Gen'ichi, January 30, 1912–May 25, 2002), looking for new ways to utilize the company’s manufacturing facilities, began to seriously investigate overseas markets.
In 1993, Yamaha successfully launched the Silent Piano series, pianos that could either be played as regular acoustic pianos, or with their sound muted and only audible to the pianist through headphones.
Yamaha studied watch repair under a British engineer, then completed an apprenticeship at Japan's first school of Western medicine in Nagasaki and took a job repairing medical equipment in the isolated town of Hamamatsu.
Riders such as Bob Hannah, Heikki Mikkola, Kenny Roberts, Chad Reed, Jeremy McGrath, Stefan Merriman, Wayne Rainey, and Valentino Rossi have won victories for Yamaha.
A subsidiary of YCA, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems (YCAS), established in 2006, offers a growing line of commercial audio products for the U.S. and Canadian markets, and distributes Nexo speaker products.
Starting in the 1970s, Yamaha developed a wide range of electronic musical instruments and technologies.
In 1957, Yamaha began production of its first 250 cc, two-stroke twin, the YD1.
One of Yamaha’s core principles has been to develop new products and enter new markets using its existing expertise and technologies.
On December 20, 2007, Yamaha made an agreement with the Austrian Bank BAWAG P.S.K.
Yamaha Corporation is named for its founder, Torakusu Yamaha (?? ??, Yamaha Torakusu; April 20, 1851–August 8, 1916).
Yamaha also provides opportunities for customers to fully enjoy its products by sponsoring musical groups and events, contests, motor sports competitions, and resorts offering leisure activities such as golf, sailing, and motorcycling.
In 1966, Toyota and Yamaha teamed up to produce the limited edition Toyota 2000 GT sports car, still admired for its performance and craftsmanship.
In 1899, the Japanese Ministry of Education sent Yamaha to the United States to study piano making and to establish suppliers for the materials needed to produce pianos in Japan.
Yamaha acted quickly on this celebrity and began marketing its motorcycles through an independent distributor, Cooper Motors, in California in 1958.
Yamaha owns numerous subsidiaries and affiliates in overseas markets in addition to a number of related companies in Japan.
The company's intensive research into metal alloys for use in acoustic pianos had given Yamaha wide knowledge of the making of lightweight, yet sturdy and reliable metal constructions.
Today, Yamaha Motor Company is the world's second largest producer of motorcycles (after Honda).
The success of the YA-1 resulted in the founding of the Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. on July 1, 1955.
Six archers in five different Olympic Games won gold medals using Yamaha products.
Yamaha’s commitment to supporting music education and promoting the enjoyment of music distinguishes it from its competitors.
In 1963, Yamaha developed the Autolube System, a separate oil injection system for two-stroke motor cycle engines, eliminating the inconvenience of pre-mixing fuel and oil.
Used in various forms over the years, the current Yamaha logo was standardized in 1998.
Yamaha’s Music Marketing Group (MMG) sells and markets piano and keyboard products, band and orchestral instruments, live sound and music production products, guitars, drums, and consumer products.
In 1960, the Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA), then Yamaha International Corporation, was established to market a full line of musical instruments and audio/visual products in the United States.
Taking advantage of every opportunity to use its existing technology and expertise to expand into new markets, Yamaha began producing harmonicas during World War I and hand-wound phonographs in the 1920s.
The first prototype, the Yamaha YA-1, named in honor of Yamaha’s founder, was completed in August 1954.
In 1914, when World War I curtailed the sale of German harmonicas in Japan, Yamaha introduced its first harmonica and began exporting harmonicas worldwide.
YCA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation, Japan, and is the largest of all global subsidiary companies.
Yamaha produced its first acoustic guitar in 1942, its first solid body guitar in 1965, and its first bass guitar in 1966.
Yamaha Corporation was an outgrowth of Meiji Japan's enthusiasm for new technologies, and of the ability of its young, educated middle-class entrepreneurs to develop new products based on Western imports.
Yamaha acoustic guitars are known for their sustained and powerful warm tone.
Yamaha intends to continue manufacturing at the Bцsendorfer facilities in Austria.
In 1958, Yamaha became the first Japanese motorcycle manufacture to enter the international race arena, and won an impressive 6th place in the Catalina Grand Prix race in the United States.
Today it is the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world, and Yamaha Motor Corporation is the second-largest manufacturer of motorcycles.
In 1988, Yamaha purchased Sequential Circuits and from 1989–1993, bought a significant share (51 percent) of competitor Korg.
On February 1, 2008, Bцsendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH began to operate as a subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation.
Yamaha Music Foundation, established in 1966, has initiated a wide range of music programs around the world, including the Junior Original Concert.
Another subsidiary of YCA, Yamaha Electronics Corporation (YEC), offers a comprehensive line of audio and video products in the U.S. home entertainment market.
In 2002, Yamaha closed down the archery product business, which it had started in 1959.
Yamaha’s goal is that every guitar must have a balanced tone and response, and the bass and treble must complement each other so that the guitarist does not have to compensate.
Yamaha owns and operates several unique resort facilities in Japan that provide its customers with the opportunity to enjoy leisure and cultural activities involving Yamaha products, including golf, motor sports and music.
Yamaha observed that less-expensive upright pianos were becoming more popular than organs in U.S. homes and decided to manufacture them in Japan.
The Yamaha Corporation (???????,Yamaha Kabushiki Gaisha) (TYO: 7951) is one of the most diversified companies in Japan, offering a wide range of products and services, predominantly musical instruments and electronics.
The Yamaha XS 650, introduced in 1970, was such an overwhelming success that it ended the British monopoly of vertical twin motorcycles.
The same year, Yamaha fulfilled its first export order of 78 organs to Southeast Asia.
By the early 1970's, the quality and design of Yamaha guitars had been recognized by artists such as Carlos Santana and Bob Marley.