(), or 'FHI', traces its origins to the
Nakajima Aircraft Company (est.
1917), which was the leader in aircraft manufacture for the Japanese military during WWII. FHI was established on
July 15,
1953 when five Japanese companies joined to form one of
Japan's largest manufacturers of transportation equipment. Currently, FHI employs more than 15,000 people worldwide, operates nine manufacturing plants and sells products in 100 countries. It currently makes
Subaru brand cars, and its
aerospace division makes parts for
Boeing, helicopters for the
Japanese Self Defense Force,
Raytheon Hawker, and
Eclipse Aviation business jets.
In the United States, Fuji Heavy Industries owns
Subaru of America, Inc.,
Subaru Research & Development, Inc., and
Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc.
Shareholders
From
1968 until
1999, FHI was 20% owned by
Nissan, who acquired the stake in
1968 during a period of government-ordered merging of Japanese auto industry firms in order to improve competitiveness under the administration of
Prime Minister Eisaku Sato. During their ownership, Nissan was primarily interested in its bus manufacturing division and lent automaking expertise to Subaru. Upon Nissan's acquisition by
Renault, its 20% stake was sold to
General Motors, but GM announced on October 6, 2005 that it will sell 8.4% of the company to
Toyota and disposed of its remaining share, 11.6% of the company, on the market.
[1]
Divisions
FHI has four main divisions:
★ The
automobile division,
Subaru, has been manufacturing and selling automobiles since 1954 and now has 1,970
dealers in 100 countries.
★ The
aerospace division is a contractor for the
Japan Defense Agency and markets and sells both commercial and defense-related
aircraft,
helicopters and
target drones. This division used to build the
Fuji FA200 Aero Subaru and is currently participating in the
Airbus A380,
Boeing 777,
Boeing 787,
Hawker 4000 and
Eclipse 500 programs, and supplies parts for
Boeing 737,
Boeing 747 and
Boeing 767.
★ The industrial products division manufactures and sells equipment under the Robin brand. Fuji's industrial products division began manufacturing “Star” engines for
Polaris Industries snowmobiles in 1968, and Fuji remains a Polaris engine supplier to this day. Fuji has provided more than 2 million engines used in Polaris snowmobiles, ATVs, watercraft and utility vehicles.
[2]
★ The eco technology division manufactures and sells
garbage trucks,
robot sweeper, and
wind turbines.
★ FHI discontinued the production of
buses, and
railroad cars in 2003.
The company's four divisions all share their technological advancements with one another, which has made FHI a leader in innovation. In particular, they apply a great deal of their aircraft technology to their automotive division, the most notable example being the horizontally-opposed
boxer engines used in all modern Subaru automobiles.
Leadership
Past presidents
★ 1953-1956 — Kenji Kita
★ 1956-1963 — Takao Yoshida
★ 1963-1970 — Nobuo Yokota
★ 1970-1978 — Eiichi Ohara
★ 1978-1985 — Sadamichi Sasaki
★ 1985-1990 — Toshihiro Tajima
★ 1990-1996 — Isamu Kawai
★ 1996-2001 — Takeshi Tanaka
★ 2001-2006 — Kyoji Takenaka
★ 2006-present — Ikuo Mori
References
1. Toyota to buy Fuji shares in GM selloff Japan Times, October 6, 2005
2. Polaris and Fuji: A Long History of a Powerful Partnership
External links
★
FHI Corporate Information
★
Subaru global website
★
Subaru klubas Subaru club of Lithuania.