Site icon CompaniesHistory.com – The largest companies and brands in the world

Makita Net Worth, Marketcap, Revenue, Competitors 2026

Makita Corp. logo

Makita Corp. logo

Makita Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of power tools, outdoor equipment, and pneumatic tools headquartered in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture. Founded in 1915 as a small electric motor repair shop in Nagoya, the company pivoted to manufacturing in 1958 when it released Japan’s first portable electric planer. That move set the direction for the next seven decades. Makita now sells products in more than 150 countries, runs 10 manufacturing plants across 8 countries, and employs 17,669 people. Its teal-coloured tools are recognised on construction sites across Europe, North America, and Asia. The company is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 6586.

Key Stats

1915
Year Founded
$5.1B
FY2024 Revenue (USD)
~$8B
Market Cap (2026)
17,669
Employees (FY2024)
150+
Countries Served

Makita History

Makita’s story spans more than a century. The company began as a repair operation for motors and lighting equipment and spent its first four decades in that role before one pivotal decision in 1958 changed everything. The shift into manufacturing produced a business that now leads the professional power tool market in several major economies.

  • 1915
    Founded in Nagoya Mosaburo Makita, aged 21, establishes Makita Electric Works in Nagoya, Japan, selling and repairing lighting equipment, motors, and transformers. His colleague Jujiro Goto, aged 17, joins from the start and later shapes the company’s manufacturing direction.
  • 1938
    Incorporated as Makita Electric Works The company formally incorporates, establishing its legal structure. Seven years later, wartime air raids prompt relocation to Anjo City, which remains the corporate headquarters today.
  • 1958
    First Electric Planer Under President Jujiro Goto, Makita manufactures and markets Japan’s first portable electric planer, entering power tool production for the first time. This marks the decisive break from repair into manufacturing.
  • 1962
    Public Listing Makita goes public on the Nagoya Stock Exchange to raise capital for its growing manufacturing operations, eventually listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
  • 1969
    Japan Market Leadership Makita reaches the top position in the Japanese power tool market and begins overseas expansion the following year with the establishment of a US subsidiary.
  • 1978
    First Cordless Tool Makita launches its first cordless product, a drill. This move into battery-powered tools proves foundational — cordless tools would eventually become the company’s most important product category.
  • 1980
    First Overseas Factory Makita opens its first overseas manufacturing plant in Canada, the first step in building a global production network that now spans eight countries.
  • 1991
    Sachs-Dolmar Acquisition and Rebrand Makita acquires Sachs-Dolmar GmbH, a German manufacturer of petrol-powered chainsaws, renaming it Dolmar GmbH. In the same year, the parent company adopts the name Makita Corporation, dropping “Electric Works” from its official title.
  • 1999
    18-Volt Cordless Range Launched Makita launches a full 18-volt cordless tool platform, including the world’s first cordless miter saw. The 18V LXT system grows into the largest brushless cordless tool platform globally by number of compatible products.
  • 2005
    Maktec Brand Launched Makita introduces the Maktec sub-brand for lower-priced tools aimed at emerging markets in Asia outside Japan, manufactured primarily in China. The brand targets price-sensitive buyers without diluting the Makita professional positioning.
  • 2020
    40V MAX XGT Platform Launched Makita launches its 40V MAX XGT cordless system, its most powerful battery platform to date, targeting heavy-duty professional applications that previously required corded tools. The system is designed to eventually replace petrol-powered equipment.
  • 2022
    Peak Revenue Year Makita reports its highest-ever revenue of approximately $5.81 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2022, driven by post-pandemic construction demand and strong European sales. A global inventory correction the following year brings revenues down.

Makita Co-founders

Mosaburo Makita (1893–unknown)

Makita founded the company in Nagoya at the age of 21 by acquiring machinery from a shuttered Tokyo electrical firm. He gave the company its name and its early focus on motor repair. His ambition to run his own business drove the venture from the start, though the manufacturing turn that defined the modern company came under later leadership.

Jujiro Goto

Goto joined from the same Tokyo firm at the age of 17 and worked alongside Makita from the company’s first days. He later became president and was the driving force behind the 1958 pivot into power tool manufacturing. The decision to build Japan’s first portable electric planer was made under his watch and transformed the company’s trajectory entirely.

Makita Market Cap

Makita’s market cap reached its highest point around 2017–2018, exceeding $15 billion, on the back of strong global construction activity and growing cordless tool adoption. A combination of yen weakness, margin pressure, and an inventory correction in North America pushed it back toward the $7–9 billion range by the mid-2020s.

Makita Competitors

Makita competes in a fragmented global power tool market where no single company controls more than a quarter of global sales. Its most direct rivals in the professional segment are Bosch and Stanley Black & Decker, whose DeWalt brand targets the same professional contractor base. Hilti and Festool serve the premium end, while Milwaukee Tool (owned by Techtronic Industries) has challenged Makita’s cordless leadership position in North America most aggressively in recent years.

# Company Country Key Brands
1 Stanley Black & Decker USA DeWalt, Stanley, Black & Decker
2 Robert Bosch Germany Bosch, Dremel
3 Techtronic Industries Hong Kong Milwaukee, Ryobi, AEG
4 Hilti Liechtenstein Hilti
5 Snap-on USA Snap-on, Bahco
6 Husqvarna Sweden Husqvarna, Gardena
7 Festool (TTS Tooltechnic) Germany Festool
8 Metabo HPT Japan Metabo HPT, HiKOKI
9 Chervon Holdings China EGO, Flex, Skil
10 Positec Tool China Worx, Rockwell

Makita Revenue

Makita reports in Japanese yen, so USD revenue figures shift with exchange rates. On a local currency basis, the company grew consistently from 2015 through FY2022, peaking at around ¥764 billion. Revenue has eased since then as a North American inventory correction reduced demand, though the yen’s weakness has partly cushioned the decline in USD terms. The fiscal year runs April to March.

Makita Acquisitions

Makita has made relatively few acquisitions compared to its Western rivals. The company has grown largely through organic means — building new factories, expanding its distribution network, and investing in R&D. Its acquisition strategy has been selective, targeting businesses that add product categories or manufacturing capacity it could not build quickly enough on its own.

The most significant deal in Makita’s history was the 1991 acquisition of Sachs-Dolmar GmbH, a German manufacturer of petrol-powered chainsaws. Sachs-Dolmar brought outdoor power equipment into Makita’s product range for the first time. The German plant, renamed Dolmar GmbH after the acquisition, became Makita’s European manufacturing hub and today produces outdoor equipment for global distribution. The deal also accelerated Makita’s European presence at a time when the market was growing quickly.

In the mid-1990s, Makita expanded its Chinese manufacturing through incremental investment rather than acquisition, establishing plants in China that eventually became its highest-volume production base. By the late 1990s, its Chinese factories were producing over 100,000 tools per month. A second Chinese plant followed, reinforcing the country’s role as Makita’s mass-market production centre.

Makita’s acquisition of the Maktec brand structure in the 2000s represented a strategic segmentation move. Rather than acquiring a company outright, Makita used Maktec as a vehicle to enter price-sensitive Asian markets with Chinese-manufactured tools while keeping the Makita brand squarely positioned at the professional end. The approach let the company address a wider market without compromising its professional reputation.

More recently, Makita has focused its capital on organic expansion — building new plants in countries like Romania and the UAE, and investing heavily in its 40V MAX XGT battery platform. Rather than buying its way into new product areas, the company has used battery platform development as the mechanism for entering categories like outdoor power equipment and robotic tools that were previously dominated by petrol engines.

FAQs

Who founded Makita Corporation?

Mosaburo Makita founded the company in Nagoya, Japan in March 1915 at the age of 21. Jujiro Goto co-founded the business from the start and later became president, leading the company’s entry into power tool manufacturing in 1958.

Where is Makita headquartered?

Makita is headquartered in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The company relocated there from Nagoya in 1945 and has maintained its headquarters in Anjo ever since. Its US subsidiary is based in La Mirada, California.

What was Makita’s first power tool?

Makita’s first power tool was a portable electric planer, introduced in 1958. It was the first such product made in Japan. Before that, the company had spent over four decades repairing and selling electric motors and lighting equipment.

What is Makita’s annual revenue?

Makita reported revenue of approximately $5.1 billion USD for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. The company reports in Japanese yen — FY2024 revenue was ¥741.4 billion — so USD figures vary with exchange rates.

Who are Makita’s biggest competitors?

Makita’s main competitors are Stanley Black & Decker (DeWalt), Robert Bosch, and Techtronic Industries (Milwaukee Tool, Ryobi) in the global professional power tool market. Hilti competes at the premium end, while Husqvarna overlaps in outdoor power equipment.

Exit mobile version