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Little Tokyo Redevelopment Project, Los Angeles, California |
| Forty years have passed since Kajima launched business operations in the United States by establishing Kajima International, Inc. The first project in the United States was to redevelop the original Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles in 1964 under the initiative of the late Chairman Dr. Morinosuke Kajima. Since then, Kajima has steadily expanded and diversified its U.S. business and established a solid presence in the world's largest market. Through the first half of the 1970's, Kajima engaged mainly in design work on projects for Nissan, Seiko, and other Japanese companies setting up operations on the West Coast. As Japanese companies began moving eastward, Kajima opened an office in New York in 1975 and began construction work as well as design. Kajima also established Kajima Development Corporation to extend its development business in the United States. The 1970's became a period in which Kajima laid the foundation for subsequent business activities in the U.S. market. In the 1980's, heightened trade friction between Japan and the United States and the yen's sudden appreciation against the U.S. dollar led to a rapid rise in the number of Japanese companies setting up operations in the United States. During this decade, Kajima established Kajima U.S.A. Inc. to manage group companies and expanded offices in Dallas and Chicago, constructing automotive plants for companies such as Mazda, Mitsubishi/Chrysler, and Subaru/Isuzu with annual sales of US$450 million. However, the 1990's brought economic recession in the United States and Japan, with a dramatic contraction in the market. Despite these adverse circumstances, Kajima earned a reputation for high quality and reliability in such markets as health care and pharmaceuticals, information technology, educational facilities, and large-scale distribution facilities. The 1990's through 2004 was also a period in which Kajima sought to stabilize its U.S. operations; the Company withdrew from unprofitable businesses and disposed of nonperforming assets while making aggressive investments in new businesses such as establishing Industrial Developments International, Inc. (IDI) to develop logistics facilities, KUD International LLC to engage in fee-based urban development, and Commercial Developments International (CDI) to develop commercial facilities. It has also invested in the leading architectural design firm HOK and acquired Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company, the largest construction firm in Hawaii. As it enters its fifth decade of operation in the United States, Kajima is poised to pursue sustained growth in design, construction, development, and other fields. Through the operation of a diverse portfolio of businesses, the Kajima U.S.A. Group will continue to contribute to American society. |
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From Mr. Hiroaki Hoshino, President of Kajima U.S.A. Inc.: I believe the Kajima U.S.A. Group must become an integrated corporate group of diversified companies sharing common values, while each company functions as an independent business unit with a distinctive corporate culture and sense of values. In the next decade, I would like to continue the challenge of making the Kajima U.S.A. Group an increasingly powerful, vital corporate group. |
 Vol. 29 Summer 2004
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   All rights reserved, Copyright (c) 2004 KAJIMA CORPORATION |