PIAA Corporation

Last updated
PIAA Corporation
PIAA
Native name
PIAA株式会社
Romanized name
PIAA kabushiki gaisha
Company type Kabushiki gaisha
Industry Automotive
FoundedJuly 1, 1963;61 years ago (July 1, 1963)
Headquarters
Suidō, Bunkyō, Tokyo
,
Japan
Key people
Hiroyasu Terada (President)
Revenue¥475 million (2019)
¥157.02 million [1]  (2019)
Total assets ¥5,755,357,000 [1]  (2019)
Owner Valeo
Number of employees
166
Parent Ichikoh
Divisions PIAA USA
Website www.piaa.co.jp/english
Mitsubishi Starion 2000 Turbo rally car with PIAA lights 2014 Rally Bohemia Legend - Mitsubishi Starion 2000 Turbo.jpg
Mitsubishi Starion 2000 Turbo rally car with PIAA lights

PIAA Corporation(PIAA株式会社, PIAA Kabushiki gaisha) is an automobile parts and supplies manufacturer headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It is a consolidated subsidiary of Ichikoh, which in turn is a subsidiary of Valeo.

Contents

Despite the capitalization of its name implying that it is an acronym, it was stated in 2015 [2] and 2019 [3] to actually be onomatopoeia.

History

"Ratchet" movie car from Transformers featuring PIAA lights Hummer H2 Transformer.jpg
"Ratchet" movie car from Transformers featuring PIAA lights

Products

PIAA forged aluminum wheel on a Mercedes S65 AMG PIAA PREMIUM FORGED F301.JPG
PIAA forged aluminum wheel on a Mercedes S65 AMG

Current Product Lines

Motorsports

PIAA is active in supporting motorsports. It started by supplying lamps to rally teams in 1982.[ citation needed ] After that, its customer base gradually expanded, and currently, in addition to racing cars such as rally and touring cars (such as in the Nürburgring 24 Hours, Spa 24 Hours, and Fuji 24 Hours), the company also supplies racing motorcycles (such as in the Suzuka 8 Hours and FIM Endurance World Championship). [4] Due to the high quality of its products,[ citation needed ] many teams use not only its lamps but also its water-repellent wipers, aluminum wheels, etc. for both cars and motorcycles in Japan and overseas.

Tyrrell 026 Formula One race car with PIAA livery Tyrrell 026 Goodwood 1998.jpg
Tyrrell 026 Formula One race car with PIAA livery

PIAA was the title sponsor in Formula One of the Tyrrell Racing Organisation's entrants for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The PIAA sponsorship livery was displayed on the Tyrrell 025 driven by Mika Salo and Jos Verstappen, and on the Tyrrell 026 driven by Ricardo Rosset and Toranosuke Takagi. [5] [6] This helped increase international awareness of the PIAA brand. PIAA had earlier been a minor sponsor of the Tyrrell team during the 1990 and 1991 seasons on the Tyrrell 019 and 020, respectively.

Support for former racing driver Satoru Nakajima has been deeply connected since 1986. At the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix, which was Nakajima's last race at Suzuka, the Hinomaru support flag of "Thank you Satoru Nakajima" was developed.[ citation needed ] Even after he retired from active racing, PIAA continued to sponsor his Nakajima Racing team. It withdrew from sponsorship in 2009, but resumed support in 2012.

In the WRC, Toyota, Hyundai, and Citroën are supplied with PIAA lamps (and, for the former, water-repellent wipers). [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 PIAA株式会社 第57期決算公告
  2. ↑ "Piaa: lighting the future". motioncars.inquirer.net. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  3. ↑ Atienza, Isaac (2019-04-03). "Where Did The PIAA Name Come From?". Go Flat Out PH. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  4. 1 2 "Overseas Motor Sports". PIAA Corporation. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  5. ↑ admin (2021-12-19). "Overview Formula One Testing In 1997". UNRACEDF1.COM (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
  6. ↑ admin (2022-01-01). "Overview Formula One Testing In 1998". UNRACEDF1.COM (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-08-24.
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