What KYB Americas makes

KYB Americas Corporation is the North American arm of KYB Corporation, the Tokyo-listed group that describes itself as the world's largest supplier of original equipment and aftermarket shocks and struts. In North America, KYB designs, manufactures, and distributes ride control for cars, trucks, SUVs, and crossovers: twin-tube and monotube shock absorbers, MacPherson struts, complete corner strut assemblies, steering stabilizers, and the mounting hardware, coil springs, strut mounts, jounce bumpers, and bellows that go with them.

The aftermarket catalog is built around a handful of named lines. Excel-G is the OE-replacement family aimed at restoring a vehicle's original handling. Gas-a-Just is a monotube gas shock. MonoMax is the heavy-duty monotube for trucks, 4x4s, and SUVs, which the company says delivers up to 40% more damping. Strut-Plus ships as a preassembled corner so a shop can replace a strut without a spring compressor. In 2026 KYB added the 2000 Series, a high-performance adjustable off-road line engineered by the KYB Performance Engineering Division in Tokyo, with up to two inches of front height adjustment and a 2.5-inch body. A separate Fluid Power division in Addison, Illinois distributes hydraulic motors, actuators, gear pumps, control valves, and concrete mixer-truck components for construction, agricultural, industrial, and marine use.

Because KYB builds original equipment for automakers, its aftermarket parts are engineered against how a vehicle behaved when new. That OE lineage is the company's core pitch to shops and parts stores, and it maps directly to how a buyer should think about ride-control OEM programs versus aftermarket replacement demand.

Manufacturing and North American footprint

KYB Americas runs three North American sites. The aftermarket headquarters and distribution center are in Greenwood, Indiana, a 275,000-square-foot facility opened in 2011 that became the consolidated hub in 2014, with more than 100 full-time employees. The manufacturing plant is in Franklin, Indiana: a roughly 500,000-square-foot facility operating since 1986, employing more than 700 associates, and producing original equipment shocks and struts for carmakers in the Americas and abroad. The Franklin plant has added an R&D lab and a clean room for shock-valve assembly, and it was named 2019 Industrial Plant of the Year for wastewater management after cutting discharge by 40%. The Addison, Illinois office, opened in 1999, houses the Fluid Power division.

The parent group's manufacturing reach stands behind those US plants. KYB Corporation operates about 32 facilities in 21 countries and 15 manufacturing plants across Asia, Europe, and the United States, and its highly automated lines can switch from producing one strut to another in about 15 seconds.

Ownership and history

KYB Americas is a wholly owned subsidiary of KYB Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 7242. The parent was founded in 1919 as the Kayaba Research Center, later Kayaba Industry, and adopted the KYB Corporation name in 2015. For its most recent fiscal year the group reported consolidated net sales of 481,529 million yen and 13,418 employees; the company states its annual sales exceed 4.2 billion US dollars, making it a leading global shock absorber producer.

KYB's North American history runs to 1974, when it introduced a limited line of MacPherson strut replacement cartridges along with its Gas-a-Just and Premium Heavy Duty shocks. KYB Americas Corporation, the sales subsidiary established that year, marked 50 years in North America in 2024. The business is organized into the Greenwood aftermarket headquarters, the Franklin OE manufacturing plant, and the Addison Fluid Power division, with a separate subsidiary, KYB Mexico, handling distribution across Mexico, Central, and South America.

Certifications and quality

KYB is a Tier 1 automotive supplier whose Franklin plant produces original equipment parts for major automakers, and OE production of this kind is governed by IATF 16949, the automotive quality-management standard that the KYB group holds across its operations. A dated certificate specific to the Franklin plant was not located in public sources, so the standard is reported here as the sector norm the company operates under rather than as a verified dated certification. The Franklin facility's environmental record, including its 2019 wastewater award, points to an active facility management program.

Known customers

KYB's own materials name the automakers it supplies as an original equipment vendor. On its KYB Global page the company lists GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Infiniti, Chrysler, Subaru, Toyota, Lexus, and Volkswagen among the major OEMs it serves. The Franklin, Indiana plant produces OE shocks and struts for carmakers in the Americas and around the world, and those OE relationships feed a large aftermarket business sold through parts stores, service shops, and retailers across North America.

Sourcing evidence

KYB Americas is a heavy importer, with more than 5,150 US sea shipments on record since 2015 and an average of roughly 69 TEU per month. The most recent shipment on record landed on September 20, 2026. The bill-of-lading record reads the way a global manufacturer's should: the largest lane by far is intra-group, with about 3,100 shipments from KYB in Japan carrying hydraulic pumps, motors, and valves, plus further shipments from KYB UMW Malaysia, KYB Asian Pacific, and Kayaba Industrial. External component suppliers include YC & Bruder in Taiwan (shock absorbers and hardware), Joban Machinery in Japan (Hydrostar hydraulic motors), and Thai Fine Sinter in Thailand (sintered pistons). By declared code the mix leads with suspension systems and parts, other automotive parts, and hydraulic cylinders and valves, sourced mainly from Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Import volume has softened recently, with the trailing month down about 59% year-over-year in the customs data, though monthly activity remains substantial and current through September 2026. Estimated cumulative ocean-freight spend is roughly 14.9 million dollars, covering about 79% of shipments, an order-of-magnitude figure rather than an audited one. These are US ocean-freight records only: air, truck, and rail movements do not appear, some records name freight intermediaries, and product categories come from declared manifest codes, which are noisy. Absence of a record is not evidence of absence. For buyers weighing suspension sourcing, KYB's footprint is a useful reference point on both tariff exposure and multi-region supply resilience.

Frequently asked questions

What does KYB Americas Corporation make?

KYB Americas makes automotive ride-control products: shock absorbers, MacPherson struts, complete strut assemblies, steering stabilizers, and related suspension hardware for cars, trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. Named aftermarket lines include Excel-G, Gas-a-Just, MonoMax, Strut-Plus, and the 2026 off-road 2000 Series. A separate Fluid Power division distributes hydraulic motors, pumps, valves, and mixer-truck components.

Who owns KYB Americas Corporation?

KYB Americas Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of KYB Corporation of Tokyo, Japan, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 7242. KYB Corporation, formerly Kayaba, was founded in 1919 and reported consolidated net sales of 481,529 million yen and 13,418 employees in its most recent fiscal year.

Where is KYB Americas located?

KYB Americas Corporation is headquartered in Greenwood, Indiana, at 850 N Graham Rd, its North American aftermarket distribution center. It also operates an original equipment manufacturing plant in Franklin, Indiana, and a Fluid Power division office in Addison, Illinois.

Who are KYB Americas' customers?

KYB supplies original equipment shocks and struts to major automakers. On its own site the company names GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Infiniti, Chrysler, Subaru, Toyota, Lexus, and Volkswagen among the OEMs it serves, and it sells a broad aftermarket line through parts stores, service shops, and retailers across North America.

How long has KYB been in North America?

KYB entered North America in 1974 with a limited line of strut cartridges and shock absorbers, and KYB Americas Corporation, its North American sales subsidiary, was established that year. The company marked 50 years in North America in 2024.

Is KYB Americas a MEMA member?

Yes. KYB is a member of MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers, part of MEMA, The Vehicle Suppliers Association, and it also belongs to the Auto Care Association and the Automotive Industries Association of Canada.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.