Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation that specializes
in manufacturing compact automobiles, a full range of motorcycles, All-Terrain
Vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small
internal combustion engines. Suzuki is the 12th largest automobile manufacturer
in the world, employs over 45,000 people, has 35 main production facilities
in 23 countries and 133 distributors in 192 countries. Suzuki stands No.1 in
the world for compact automobiles.
"Suzuki" is pronounced in Japanese
as "soo-zoo-kee" /suzuki/, with emphasis on a high "kee". It is typically pronounced
in English as "suh-ZOO-kee" /s??zu?ki/, with a stressed "zoo". This pronunciation
is used by the English-speaking public and by the Suzuki company in
marketing campaigns directed at this demographic.
In 1909, Michio Suzuki
founded the Suzuki Loom Company in the small seacoast village of Hamamatsu,
Japan. Business boomed as Suzuki built weaving looms for Japan's giant silk
industry. Suzuki's only desire was to build better, more user-friendly looms. In
1929, Michio Suzuki invented a new type of weaving machine, which was exported
overseas. Suzuki filed as many as 120 patents and utility model rights. For the
first 30 years of the company's existence, its focus was on the development
and production of these exceptionally complex machines. |
