Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. Celebrates 50th Anniversary ~ Coming to America

By Justin Stakes

Surprisingly, the birthplace of Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. was not the Golden State but old-town Chicago.

Irvine, CA -(AmmoLand.com)- Exactly 50 years ago today, on March 1, 1966, American Kawasaki Motorcycle Corp. (AKMC) opened for business in Chicago, with a modest sales office at 208 South La Salle Street and a two-story parts warehouse at 2860 North Lincoln Avenue.

Formerly the site of a meat-packing plant, the warehouse needed serious renovation, but the price was right for a company trying to gain a toehold in a vast new country. Welcomed by Tony Watanabe with Ted Tazaki, who led the charge to establish the Chicago office, just 50 people attended the grand opening, held at the nearby Continental Hotel. But it was the right crowd, including the banks, trading companies and distributors that would support the company’s early efforts in America.

Click to see KMC’s animated 50th Anniversary Logo!

Like other Japanese manufacturers in the early 1960s, the parent of AKMC, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. (KHI), viewed America as a highly attractive place to grow its brand. The industrial giant had already joined the motorcycle industry in …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand