Kintetsu International history

Our history began in 1966 when Kintetsu opened an office in Hawai`i.

In April 1969, KNT's air freight business department became the first among Japan's forwarders to establish a subsidiary in Hong Kong.

In January 1970, the newly formed Kintetsu Air Cargo International split off from KNT to become the first air freight specialist in Japan.

In 1974, Kintetsu headquarters was established in New York.

The Hawai`i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA) and Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards trace their origins to 1978 and KCCN-AM Radio

In 1980, the very first Matsuri in Hawai`i was held.

KWE UK was established in February 1985, followed by KWE Germany in June of the same year.

Wholly-owned Taiwan operations began in April of 1987, with representative offices opening in Australia and Korea in June of the same year.

In January 1995, Kintetsu Logistics (Shenzhen) was established.

From 1996, Matsuri in Hawai`i became known as the Pan-Pacific Festival to broaden its capacity to include other traditions and people.

To solidify our corporate suite, Travelport made its debut in 2002 and the following year, an all-embracing reporting suite package became part of our portfolio and offers to our clients.

In 2005, KWE became the first foreign freight forwarder to obtain a license for domestic air freight handling in China.

In May 2015, KWE completed the acquisition of Singapore-based APL Logistics (APLL), a subsidiary of Neptune Orient Lines.