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THE KAWASAKI BRAND HAS AN ENVIABLE RECORD OF ENGINEERING STRENGTH AND PERFORMANCE IN NUMEROUS FIELDS Engines and Power Products deliver on the heritage built over more than 125 years. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.-- Each time somebody maneuvers a mower powered by a Kawasaki engine, or performs landscaping tasks with one of the company’s new KCL25A hedge trimmers, or handles clean-up chores with a KRH300A blower—they are benefiting from a history of performance that few brands can match. While the Engines/Power Products group, based here, may be the entry point for many users, the Kawasaki brand has a unique and extremely broad heritage. The company traces its roots back to 19 th century Japan, and those roots have since sprouted in many directions. Headquartered in Kobe, Kawasaki has grown far beyond its 1878 genesis as a Tokyo shipyard. Now a global engineering and manufacturing powerhouse named Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI), its portfolio of businesses and products are widespread. The engines and power products that provide support to the gardening and landscaping community are just two of the areas where the brand’s influence is felt. Companies operating under the global Kawasaki banner are involved in: aviation, space systems, rolling stock (trains), large shipbuilding, ship machinery and equipment, gas turbines, energy and industrial plants, automation systems (robots), environmental protection facilities, resource recycling systems, civil engineering and construction machinery, giant steel structures (sports stadiums), and more. And of course, Kawasaki-branded motorcycles, all terrain vehicles, Jet Ski® personal watercraft, MULE™ utility vehicles, and Teryx™ recreation utility vehicles. All of which have helped to make the Kawasaki brand one that is indelibly linked with high performance capabilities here in the United States. Kawasaki, in fact, was the first Japanese company to manufacture complete motor vehicles—two or four wheeled—in the U.S., when in 1975 it opened Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing (KMM) in Lincoln, Neb. And, to broaden the scope of its unique capabilities, Lincoln workers also have turned out automobile seat frames for major domestic brands. The engines that now power so many of today’s popular lawn mowers, are produced in another mid-America plant located in Maryville, Mo. Both of these production facilities have undergone numerous expansions as the demand for Kawasaki products has continued to grow. One of the more interesting expansions recently occurred at the Lincoln plant, where Kawasaki has an entire section devoted to the production of subway cars. Anyone who has ever traversed the New York City subway system likely came into contact with one of Kawasaki’s “other” moving vehicles. In fact, helping to move large numbers of people is a Kawasaki specialty. The famous Eurotunnel, which facilitates the efficient transportation of people between England and Continental Europe, was bored by special machinery built by Kawasaki. And the 186-mph Shinkansen “bullet trains” so quickly associated with Japan are also an example of Kawasaki’s engineering expertise and commitment to performance. But it isn’t only ground transport that lights the performance imagination of Kawasaki engineers. The company has long been a developer and supplier of sub-sections for Boeing’s airliners, including the current 767, 777, the new Boeing 787. Perhaps the most recognized of performance applications here in the U.S. is the company’s dominance on the professional motorcycle racing circuits. Kawasaki has been among the most successful at fielding racing teams both on and off-road. Winning championships at fabled racing venues like Daytona Beach and in the major stadiums around the country, the Kawasaki brand has stood for engineering expertise, durability, and most of all—performance. For the first time, readers of lawn and garden care publications will notice that the motorcycle racing heritage has been incorporated into Kawasaki engine and power products advertising. Given the way that these products excel in the marketplace, it seems only natural. |
