Makita Corporation (TYO: 6586) is a Japanese manufacturer of power tools. Founded on March 21, 1915, it is based in Anjō, Japan, and operates factories in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, Dubai, Thailand and the United States. Annual sales were equivalent to $2.9 billion in 2012.

History

In March 1915, Mosaburo Makita (1893-?)^[3] founded Makita Electric Works (proprietorship) in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan and began selling and repairing lighting equipment, motors, and transformers.^[4]In 1958, Makita marketed portable electrical planer in Japan and became a manufacturer of power tools the following year. In April 1969, they introduced the 6500D battery-powered drill (the first rechargeable power tool). In December 1978, they launched the 6010D re-chargeable drill (the first nickel cadmium battery tool). In August 1997, the 6213D rechargeable driver-drill was exhibited at the Chicago Hardware Show] (the first nickel hydride battery tool). In February 2005, the TD130D (the first lithium-ion battery tool) was made available.

Makita ships many of its power tools in Systainer-compatible stacking boxes. In 2011 Makita registered a design for its own “Makpac” variant in the names of Yuji Yamamoto and Kiyozumi Kokawa.^[5][6]