Aoki Corporation
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Aoki Corporation was a Japanese construction company founded in 1947. It built many projects in
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,
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, and
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, and also invested in non-construction businesses, like hotels. It previously owned the Westin Hotels chain. The company, considered one of Japan's mid-tier ''zenekon'' (general contractors) by the 1990s, went bankrupt in 2001 and merged with Asunaro Construction in 2004.


History


Establishment

The company was established as the Bulldozer Koji Co. Ltd. in
Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...
in 1947 by Masuji Aoki, a former
Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...
commander. It opened a Tokyo branch office in 1948. In 1969, the company was renamed Aoki Corporation. The firm was a "newcomer" to the Japanese construction industry, and found it more difficult to win projects than the larger, traditional firms did. As a result, Aoki diversified into the hotels business, partly to generate construction business for itself. In 1976 it bought the Caesar Park Hotel in Brazil and expanded the brand into a multi-national chain of nine locations. It also developed golf courses in South America.


International growth

A Hong Kong branch office was established in 1976 after Aoki won a tunneling contract for the new Mass Transit Railway (MTR). An American subsidiary, Aoki America Corporation, was founded in December 1980 in
Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States, consisting of 10 self-contained villages. With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most-populous community in Maryland ...
. By 1983, Hong Kong was Aoki's largest overseas office with more than 400 staff. During the 1980s
economic bubble An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
in Japan, Aoki Corporation invested heavily in non-construction businesses. It bought and developed more overseas hotels. Aoki acquired the American hospitality company Westin Hotels from Allegis Corporation in 1988, paying US$1.35 billion. Immediately following the acquisition they sold the Plaza Hotel in New York City to
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
for about US$390 million. Aoki Corporation was part the Offshore Reclamation Construction Association, a consortium of eight companies that supplied sand for construction of the
Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport (), commonly known as Kankū (; ), is the primary international airport in the Keihanshin, Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is located on ...
's artificial island. In 1989, Japan's Fair Trade Commission alleged that the group was an illegal price-fixing cartel and ordered it to disband. Six of the involved firms, including Aoki, were ordered to pay surcharges, and all eight firms were suspended from bidding on
Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...
public works projects. In 1989, the company established a subsidiary called Aoki Urban Development. The subsidiary opened the Westin Osaka hotel in 1993.


1990s events

By 1990, Aoki ranked around 20th in size among Japanese construction companies. In 1993, the company had sales of ¥347 billion and a workforce of 3,455. Relative to other Japanese contractors, it realised a large proportion of sales in overseas markets such as Hong Kong – about one-third that year. Aoki Corporation was the main contractor for the Towngas corporate headquarters in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, where Hong Kong's second-deadliest construction accident occurred on 2 June 1993. A lift carrying 12 workers plunged 17 storeys, landing on the podium roof and killing all inside. A subsequent investigation by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department revealed that a driving pinion in the motor gearbox assembly was in poor condition. The emergency brake failed to stop the lift's fall. Aoki Corporation was fined in 1994 over the tragedy, and paid compensation to the families of the victims. Following this disaster, the company was heavily criticised in Hong Kong for substandard safety practices. In February 1996, Aoki Corporation won a number of safety awards in a competition arranged by the New Airport Projects Co-ordination Office of the Hong Kong Government in relation to Airport Core Programme construction work. The company won a gold award for safety management as well as awards for the best safety record for both general contracts and main contracts.


Bankruptcy and merger

The company's 1980s international expansion was financed by bank debt, and the company ran into financial challenges in the 1990s due to low income. It sold Westin Hotels in November 1994 for US$561 million but maintained ownership of many hotels. By the late 1990s, major Japanese banks considered Aoki Corporation to be at risk of failure, as it faced a heavy debt burden as well as fewer public works projects to bid on. In December 2001 the company filed for protection from creditors, effectively declaring bankruptcy. At the time it had approximately 6,500 employees, 4,560 of whom worked in the company's hospitality business. In 2004, Aoki Corporation merged with Asunaro Construction to form a new company called .


Notable projects

*
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(Ayase Section), Japan (1964) * Shimokotori Dam,
Gifu Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,910,511 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture ...
, Japan (1973) * Seto Dam,
Nara Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the ...
, Japan (1978) * Tedorigawa Dam,
Ishikawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,096,721 (1 January 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,186 Square kilometre, km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Pr ...
, Japan (1979) – with Maeda Corporation * Kornhill Gardens site formation, Hong Kong (1980s) * Beacon Hill Tunnel, Hong Kong (1981) * Tai Wo Hau station, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong (1982) * Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works (Stage I), New Territories, Hong Kong (1982) * Takami Dam,
Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
, Japan (1983) – with Kajima and Chizaki Kogyo Construction * Heng Fa Chuen station, Chai Wan, Hong Kong (1985) * Tuen Mun Hospital, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong (1990) * Shichikashuku Dam, Shichikashuku, Miyagi, Japan (1990) – with Sato and Fujita * Agigawa Dam, Ena, Gifu, Japan – with
Obayashi Corporation is one of five major Japanese construction companies along with Shimizu Corporation, Takenaka Corporation, Kajima Corporation, and Taisei Corporation. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is one of the Nikkei 225 corporations. Its h ...
and Dai Nippon Construction (1990) * North Lantau Highway (Yam O Section), Lantau, Hong Kong (1997) * Manulife Plaza, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong (1997) * West Kowloon Highway (South Section), Kowloon, Hong Kong (1997) *
Hong Kong station Hong Kong () is a station of the MTR metro system in Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a terri ...
, Central, Hong Kong (1998) * Tung Chung station, Tung Chung, Hong Kong (1998)


References

{{reflist 2004 mergers and acquisitions Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1947 Construction and civil engineering companies of Japan Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Japan Japanese companies established in 1947 Japanese companies disestablished in 2004 Construction and civil engineering companies disestablished in 2004