shoei

If there is one name that is synonymous with helmets, it has to be Shoei. Shoei is an international brands of motorcycle helmets and the company is based out at Japan. Shoei specializes in producing motorsport helmets and the company has had humble roots. The company's roots dare back to the the 1950s when the Kamata Polyester company was founded. The company made helmets for the construction and engineering sectors.

It was only in 1958 that Eitaro Kamata, the founder of Kamata Polyester Company, decided that the company was ready to take the plunge in the promising motorcycle helmet segment. The company rolled out its first helmets that met the Japanese Standards in the year 1960 and it has been a smooth sailing for Shoei ever since. The brand value and the image of the company has grown considerably over the years and the company today employs close to 500 people.

The increase in the popularity of Shoei helmets can be attributed to the fact that Honda adopted Shoei's helmets as their official helmets in 1965. This gave the brand image a sudden boost and set the wheels rolling for the company. The company was still called Kamata Polyester Company at that time. It was only in 1968 that The Shoei Safety Helmet Corporation was founded and functioned out of the Ibaraki Facility. Currently the company does a majority of its manufacturing at their Iwate factory that was built and completed in 1989. The company has made a slow yet conscious attempt to boost their brand image as racing bike helmets and have been sponsoring the likes of Toni Elias and Chris Vermeulen in the MotoGP events.

Shoei was one of the pioneers in deploying advanced techniques to lend unmatched security and safety to their helmet users. From using Kevlar and Carbon fiber in their helmets to introducing helmets having dual ventilation systems and cover less shields, Shoei has always taken the onus of taking two-wheeler safety to the next level. Shoei's biggest achievement in terms of product manufacturing has been their trademark X-Spirit range of helmets. Launched in 2003, X-Series has been proclaimed as one of the most advanced helmets in the world. This particular range of helmets has also won the MCN's product of the year 2003 award for the clothing segment. In the days to come, Shoei introduced more advanced helmets- the X-eleven, X-twelve and RF1100 being some of them. Recently Shoei also introduced a range of helmets designed specifically for the sport-touring category of bikes. These are the QWEST and the RAID II and have shown promising sales numbers.

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