Lixil

History

The primary corporate lineage of Lixil began in September 1949, when Kenjiro Ushioda established Nihon Tategu Kogyo Co., Ltd. (日本建具工業株式会社) in Tokyo to manufacture and sell wooden architectural fixtures. To transition from wooden fixtures to aluminum building materials, the company established Toyo Sash Co., Ltd. in 1967 and built an integrated manufacturing plant for aluminum sashes. In 1971, the company officially changed its name to Toyo Sash Co., Ltd. (トーヨーサッシ, Tōyō Sasshi) and absorbed several affiliated companies to consolidate its manufacturing and sales operations.

Toyo Sash expanded its market share against early industry leaders by establishing a dense distribution network and expediting product estimates and deliveries for local builders. The company gradually diversified its business beyond residential sashes. It established Toyo Exterior (TOEX) in 1974 to enter the exterior materials market, and Viva Home in 1977 for the home center retail business.

During the 1980s, Toyo Sash utilized acquisitions to enter the commercial building materials sector. In 1985, the company took over the commercial sash operations of Mitsui Light Metal and acquired shares in companies manufacturing high-rise curtain walls and commercial kitchens. In the same year, Toyo Sash listed its shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In July 1992, the company was renamed Tostem Corporation (トステム株式会社, Tosutemu) to reflect its broader focus on comprehensive housing materials.

While Tostem held a dominant market share in residential aluminum sashes and exterior materials, it lacked a presence in plumbing and sanitary ware. To fill this gap and establish a comprehensive housing equipment business, Tostem integrated its management with Inax Corporation (株式会社INAX, Inakkusu) in October 2001. Inax, founded in 1924 by Chozaburo Ina, was Japan's second-largest manufacturer of sanitary ware and a major producer of tiles. The two companies established a pure holding company named Inax Tostem Holdings Corporation.

In October 2004, the holding company was renamed JS Group Corporation (株式会社住生活グループ, Jū-seikatsu). Under this holding structure, the group continued to expand its product portfolio through corporate acquisitions, bringing the kitchen manufacturer Sunwave and the aluminum building materials maker Shin Nikkei into the group in 2010.

In April 2011, Tostem Corporation, acting as the surviving entity, absorbed its fellow subsidiaries—Inax, Shin Nikkei, TOEX (Toyo Exterior), and a sales subsidiary—and officially changed its operating name to Lixil Corporation. Although the kitchen manufacturer Sunwave was positioned as one of Lixil's five founding brands during this integration, it operated as a separate subsidiary until it was legally absorbed into Lixil Corporation in April 2015. This integration was implemented to reduce costs by consolidating sales and administrative operations, and to enable the company to offer comprehensive proposals to customers by breaking down the divisions between architectural metals and plumbing equipment. Following the merger, the original predecessor company names were retained as product brands.

Subsequently, in July 2012, the parent holding company, JS Group Corporation, was renamed Lixil Group Corporation (LIXILグループ) to align with the newly integrated operating subsidiary and improve overall corporate brand recognition.

Following the domestic consolidation, Lixil initiated a series of large-scale international acquisitions to expand its global presence. In December 2011, the company acquired the Italian high-rise curtain wall manufacturer Permasteelisa. This was followed by the acquisition of the North American plumbing manufacturer American Standard Brands (via ASD Americas Holding Corp.) in August 2013, and the German sanitary fittings manufacturer Grohe in April 2015. Domestically, Lixil continued to integrate its operations, formally absorbing the kitchen manufacturer Sunwave into the main Lixil Corporation in April 2015.