| Type | Public (NYSE: KYO) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Printers, Digital Imaging Systems Electronic devices, telecom equipment, semiconductor components, applied ceramic products |
| Founded | April 1959 |
| Headquarters | Kyoto, Japan |
| Key people | Tetsuo Kuba, President |
| Revenue | $15.3 billion USD (FY2011) |
| Employees | 66,608 |
| Website | Global Portal |
Kyocera Corporation (京セラ株式会社 Kyōsera Kabushiki-gaisha) is a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as Kyoto Ceramic Co., Ltd. (京都セラミック株式会社 Kyōto Seramikku Kabushiki-gaisha) in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommunications equipment, office document imaging equipment, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools, and components for medical and dental implant systems.
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Kyocera’s original product was a ceramic insulator known as a “kelcima” for use in television picture tubes. The company quickly adapted its technologies to produce an expanding range of ceramic components for electronic and structural applications. In the 1960s, as the NASA space program, the birth of Silicon Valley and the advancement of computer technology created demand for semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs), Kyocera developed ceramic semiconductor packages that remain among its core product lines today.
In the mid-1970s, Kyocera began expanding its material technologies to produce a diverse range of applied ceramic products, including solar photovoltaic modules; biocompatible tooth- and joint-replacement systems; industrial cutting tools; consumer ceramics, such as ceramic-bladed kitchen knives and ceramic-tipped ballpoint pens; and lab-grown gemstones, including rubies, emeralds, sapphires, opals, alexandrites and padparadschahs.
The company acquired electronic equipment manufacturing and radio communication technologies in 1979 through an investment in Cybernet Electronics Corp., which was merged into Kyocera in 1982. Shortly afterward, Kyocera introduced one of the first portable, battery-powered laptop computers, sold in the U.S. as the Tandy Model 100, which featured an LCD screen and telephone-modem data transfer capability.
Kyocera gained optical technologies by acquiring Yashica Co., Ltd. in 1983, along with Yashica's prior licensing agreement with Carl Zeiss, and manufactured film and digital cameras under the Kyocera, Yashica and Contax trade names until 2005, when the company discontinued all film and digital camera production.
In the 1980s, Kyocera marketed audio components, such as CD players, receivers, turntables, and cassette decks. These featured unique elements, including Kyocera ceramic-based platforms, and are sought by collectors to the present day. At one time, Kyocera owned the famous KLH brand founded by Henry Kloss, though Kloss and the original Cambridge design and engineering staff had left the company by the time of the Kyocera purchase. In 1989, Kyocera stopped production of audio components and sought a buyer for the KLH brand.
In 1989, Kyocera acquired Elco Corporation, a manufacturer of electronic connectors. In 1990, Kyocera’s global operations expanded significantly with the addition of AVX Corporation, a global manufacturer of passive electronic components, such as ceramic chip capacitors, filters and voltage suppressors.
Expanding sales of photovoltaic solar energy products led the company to create Kyocera Solar Corp. in Japan in 1996, and Kyocera Solar, Inc. in the U.S. in 1999.
In January 2000, Kyocera acquired photocopier manufacturer Mita Industrial Co., Ltd., and created Kyocera Mita Corporation, headquartered in Osaka, Japan, with subsidiaries in more than 25 nations.
Also in 2000, Kyocera acquired the mobile phone manufacturing operations of QUALCOMM Incorporated to form Kyocera Wireless Corp. In 2003, Kyocera Wireless Corp. established Kyocera Wireless India (KWI), a mobile phone subsidiary in Bangalore. KWI has established alliances with several leading players providing CDMA services in India.
In 2008, Kyocera completed a merger with Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (Sanyo), acquiring Sanyo's global mobile phone business and its associated operations in Japan, the U.S., and Canada.
In April 2009, Kyocera announces the EOS phone, with an OLED and is powered by kinetic energy from the user. This prototype was unveiled at CTIA. The phone also has a foldable design which is capable of morphing into a variety of shapes.[1]
Kyocera Corporation has announced a plan to increase its multicrystalline silicon solar cell production to 1,000 megawatts (MW) per year by March 31, 2013, more than tripling its 2008 output of 290 MW. The company will reinforce its production bases in Japan, Mexico, Europe and China, investing about ¥50 billion through March 31, 2012 as part of the expansion. Through this production enhancement, Kyocera looks to meet increasing demand across the world for solar cells. [2][3] Kyocera's solar panels will be an option available on the new Toyota Prius.[4]
Kyocera Solar[5] has said that it will begin manufacturing solar modules in San Diego, California, to meet the US market's demand for clean energy. The company aims for a global production capacity of 1GW of solar cells per year by March 2013.[6]
Advanced Ceramics are carefully engineered materials in which the chemical composition has been precisely adjusted using refined or synthesized raw powder, with a well-controlled method of forming and sintering.
In the past, Kyocera manufactured satellite phones for the Iridium network. Three handsets were released in 1999 including one with an unusual docking station which contained the Iridium transceiver and antenna, as well as a pager for the Iridium network.[7][8]
Kyocera acquired the terminal business of US digital communications technology company Qualcomm in February 2000,[9] and became a major supplier of mobile handsets. In 2008, Kyocera also took over the handset business of Sanyo. The Kyocera terminal division is located in San Diego.
Kyocera Mita Corporation manufactures a wide range of printers, MFPs (also marketed under the Copystar name), and toner cartridges which are sold throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas.
The company is currently the shirt sponsor of the soccer club Kyoto Sanga F.C. of the J-League (its hometown team; here the words "Kyocera" are written in Japanese, everywhere else is the Latinized logo).
Kyocera also sponsors the stadium for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga, the stadium for Atlético Paranaense in Brazil, the stadium for ADO Den Haag in the Netherlands, and its insignia appears on the back of Atlético Madrid's shirts.
Between 2005-2008, Kyocera also sponsored Reading F.C.. During this period was when Reading won the Football League Championship with a record 106 points.
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