Kenwood Corporation
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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| TYO: 6765 | |
| Industry | Consumer electronics, electronics |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan |
Key people | Shoichiro Eguchi, CEO |
| Products | Consumers electronics |
| Revenue | $1.68 billion USD (2006)[1] |
| n/a | |
| n/a | |
Number of employees | 4,424 (2006) |
| Parent | JVC Kenwood Holdings |
| Website | Kenwood Corporation |
Kenwood Corporation (株式会社ケンウッド, Kabushiki-Gaisha Ken'uddo) (TYO: 6765) is a Japanese manufacturer of amateur radio as well as hi-fi and portable audio equipment.
History
The company first started in 1946 as the Kasuga Radio Co. Ltd. In Komagane City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. In 1960 the firm was renamed "Trio Corporation". 1963 saw the foundation of the first overseas office of Trio, in Los Angeles, California, USA.[2]
In the early 1960s, The LaFayette Radio Company rebranded and sold Trio's products, focusing on the 23-channel CB radio. During this period, Trio products were rebranded under the Lafayette and RadioShack brands in the United States.
During this time, William "Bill" Kasuga, who was a first generation Japanese American, joined a firm called A&A Trading Co., at the referral of a friend. A&A imported Japanese-made electronics for RadioShack and was looking for a bilingual Japanese-speaking manager. One of RadioShack's suppliers was Trio Corporation, and Kasuga had a chance meeting with two Trio executives, convincing them to sell products under their own name. He then partnered with George Aratani and Yoichi Nakase to establish a company that would be the exclusive importer of Trio Corporation audio products.[3]
Kasuga decided to create an American-sounding name for the import company. He described the origin of Kenwood as being the combination of "Ken", a name common to Japan and America that had been tested and proven acceptable to American consumers in the name of Kenmore Appliances, and "Wood", referring to the durable substance as well as suggesting a relation to Hollywood.[3]
The brand recognition of Kenwood surpassed that of Trio's, and in 1981, Trio decided on using the Kenwood name worldwide and renamed itself Kenwood Corporation in 1986 after fully acquiring Kenwood, who was still an independent importing company. George Aratani was the first chairman of Kenwood U. S. A. Corporation and succeeded by Kasuga.[2]
Kenwood introduced its Sovereign line of components in 2001.
Kenwood announced its intention to merge with JVC after Matsushita spun off the company. The new company formed JVC Kenwood Holdings on October 1, 2008.
Products
Amateur radio transceivers
Kenwood has offered lines of HF, VHF/UHF, and portable amateur radio models, including some with built-in digital data modes (Automatic Packet Reporting System, built on AX.25 packet radio) and modems needed to send and receive these protocols.
Among the product lines are the "TS" series of HF transceivers which cover the HF ("high frequency") bands, from 1.8 to 30 MHz.
Other series include the 100, 500, and the 2000 series. Kenwood also offers a "B" model, which is a transceiver without display or controls and is completely controlled by a remote computer or a separate control unit.
- Radios with built-in digital data modes and modems (for APRS)
KA Series hi-fi systems
Kenwood's series of "Integrated Amplifier" stereo power amplifiers, launched in 1977 and produced through the mid-1980s. The design for most of these items features a true dual-mono path for stereo output (in other words, no electrical components are shared between left- and right-channel amplification). Front plates were typically made in brushed aluminum with aluminum knobs and switches, glass covers, and in some cases analog VU meters.
Amplifiers in this series included (in no particular order)[4]
- KA-1000 (11/1980)
- KA-2000
- KA-2002 (09/1970)
- KA-2200 (10/1982)
- KA-7002 (1971)
- KA-7100 (10/1976)
- KA-7300 (10/1975)
- KA-8100 / KA-8150 (06/1977)
- KA-900 (11/1980)
- KA-907 / KA-9900 (10/1978)
- KA-9100 / KA-9150 (1977)
NV Series hi-fi systems
These were a series of mini hi-fi systems launched in 2000, all featuring an ultra modern[clarification needed] design. Each one is dealt with separately.
- NV-301/701
The NV-301 and NV-701 were probably the top-of-the-range models of the NV series. Both shared a three-layered half-mirrored sleek design, the main difference mainly lay in the specification of the two systems. The NV-301 was the basic model with two speakers and with a simple phono input (marked for Minidisc and DVD players) while the NV-701 was a 5.1 Dolby surround sound model with A/V inputs. Both featured a three-disc carousel, a cassette player with Dolby B noise reduction, a natural display, intelligent features and the ability to save up to 40 radio stations. Kenwood had clearly took huge advantage of microcomputers as due to the functions that are featured, had old methods been used, the NV-301/701 would have been much larger. These features had never been matched by other manufacturers, with other designs being rather crude by comparison.[clarification needed][5]
References
- ^ Google Finance
- ^ a b Kenwood Corporation / Company History
- ^ a b "Entrepreneur Bill Kasuga Courage Helped Him Bring Music To The Public's Ears", by Patrick Seitz, Investor's Business Daily, 3/21/2011 [1] (alternate link: [2])
- ^ Kenwood KA-1000 on thevintageknob.org, retrieved 2013-11-26
- ^ "Kenwood NV-301/701 design", Image Shack, 2013-07-15, retrieved 2013-07-15
External links
