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Kawakita Denki Kigyosha (
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
for "Kawakita Electric Company"; commonly known as KDK), is the brand name used by Matsushita Ecology Systems Co., to manufacture the group's
ventilating Ventilation is the intentional introduction of outdoor air into a space. Ventilation is mainly used to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants; it can also be used to control indoor temperature, humidity, and air m ...
products. Before becoming part of Matsushita Electric, KDK was a separate company not affiliated with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. KDK was registered as a trademark in 1912 but originated in 1909 as Nippon Electric Industry Co. Ltd. KDK manufactures
electric fans A fan is a powered machine used to create a flow of air. A fan consists of a rotating arrangement of vanes or blades, generally made of wood, plastic, or metal, which act on the air. The rotating assembly of blades and hub is known as an ''imp ...
, ceiling fans, ventilating fans, range hoods, air doors (air curtains),
hand dryer A hand dryer is an electric machine which might make use of a heating element and an air blower to dry the hands after hand washing. It is commonly used in public toilets as a cost-effective alternative to paper towels. It may either operate wit ...
s,
dehumidifier A dehumidifier is an air conditioning device which reduces and maintains the level of humidity in the air. This is done usually for health or thermal comfort reasons, or to eliminate musty odor and to prevent the growth of mildew by extracting w ...
s, and subterranean air blowers, under the Panasonic brand.


History

KDK became part of the Matsushita Conglomerate in 1956. Matsushita Seiko as it was known is no longer headquartered in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
, Japan; manufacturing for KDK and Panasonic Ventilating products was transferred from
Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
to
mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
in 2001. All manufacturing is done at the Shenzhen Panasonic Air Works Co., Ltd. factory in
Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
, China and the international sales offices has also re-located to
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
under the Matsushita Seiko Hong Kong International Manufacturing Company, Ltd. known as "HIMCO" since 2001. The oldest KDK distributor is Abdulaziz & Sulaiman Saleh Al-Hakbany Sons Trading Co. from
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
which dates back to 1936.
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
is the second oldest KDK distributor dating back to 1940. The newest distributors for KDK are La Innovaccion from the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
(2002) and O.C.S. from
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
(2004); the latter also distributes National Branded Fans which will now be known as Panasonic as in 2008. KDK International Philippines Corp. (KIPCO) was founded in November 1979 as a joint venture company between Avenue Electrical Supply and Matsushita Seiko Co. Ltd, for the purpose of importing, distributing and selling all KDK products in the Philippine market such as electric fans, ventilating fans and other air moving equipment. KDK has made two attempts to distribute their products in contiguous United States. The first attempt was in 1983 when U.S.-based Patton Industries imported the electric oscillating fans, relabeled them "KDK by Patton", and the ceiling fans were then relabeled "RoyalAire" by Sumitomo America, one of Matsushita's banks, shareholders and insurance providers. This was a failure as the products never caught on with consumers. The second attempt was in 1998. Miami-based importer Caribbean Export Appliances, Inc. tried to sell KDK products but, due to their high resale prices and poor selection of models and colors, sales were minimal. The inventory was exported to Jamaica and other Caribbean nations until the Puerto Rico distributor reported it to Matsushita Seiko, which in return revoked Caribbeans Exports' distribution license. In 2003, Matsushita Seiko Co. Ltd was renamed as Matsushita Ecology Systems Co., Ltd and further changed to KDK Company, Division of PES (Panasonic Ecology Systems Co., Ltd.) 5 years later. After corporate restructuring and dissolution of the partnership between Matsushita and Seiko. The company opened a wholly owned sales branch in Malaysia in April 2002. In Indonesia, the company established on 1 December 2001 and early KDK products manufactured by PT. National Gobel Indonesia. In Singapore, the company appointed Capital Distributors Pte Ltd in August 1996 as the sole distributor for KDK fans in Singapore. On 1 August 2005, the KDK International Philippines Co., Ltd. has been re-organized as Kipcol International Corp. Since then, the company not only sell KDK brand exclusively but, also began selling other brand of products to complement its KDK line. In 2004 KDK was adjudged as the Top Electric Fan Brand for Product Quality and Excellence by the National Consumers Affairs Foundation. And in 2013 KDK was awarded by the Gold Brand Council of the Philippines as a “Gold Brand” one of the most trusted and admired brands. KDK products also made in Thailand by Panasonic Ecology Systems (Thailand) Co. Ltd and in China by Panasonic Ecology Systems Guangdong Co., Ltd.


Products

KDK currently mainly manufactures ventilating fan, range hood, air curtain, hand dryer,
ceiling fan A ceiling fan is a mechanical fan, fan mounted on the ceiling of a room or space, usually electric power, electrically powered, that uses hub-mounted rotation, rotating blades to wikt:circulation, circulate air. They cool people effectively by ...
,
dehumidifier A dehumidifier is an air conditioning device which reduces and maintains the level of humidity in the air. This is done usually for health or thermal comfort reasons, or to eliminate musty odor and to prevent the growth of mildew by extracting w ...
and air moving equipment are also provided. However,
electric fans A fan is a powered machine used to create a flow of air. A fan consists of a rotating arrangement of vanes or blades, generally made of wood, plastic, or metal, which act on the air. The rotating assembly of blades and hub is known as an ''imp ...
have been primarily their most profitable product, on which they remain the world's leading manufacturer of electronically-operated fans in different varieties, such as orbit fan, wall fan, desk fan, pedestal fan, living fan, and stand fan. KDK also manufactures all electric fans sold under the National (now a defunct manufacturer of non-audiovisual products of Panasonic) and
Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
brands. KDK pioneered the "1/f Yuragi" technology- one of its kind in electric fan industry - on which the electric fan varies the wind speed in order to simulate the natural breeze of the environment. Japan Society of Physiological Anthropology Report claimed that this feature could help minimize muscle pain by preventing rapid body temperature loss due to constant wind penetrating the human body. KDK also features a new ball bearing type motor, which is more durable, longer lasting, better in performance, and energy saving, versus their previous motor. Both features are also available in the Panasonic branded electric fans.


References


External links


KDK MalaysiaKDK IndonesiaKDK PhilippinesKDK SingaporeKDK JapanKDK Hong Kong
{{Home appliance brands Manufacturing companies of Japan Manufacturing companies established in 1909 Panasonic Japanese brands Japanese companies established in 1909 1956 mergers and acquisitions