Arai's origins can be traced back to the production of kepi-style caps by Yuichiro Arai in 1900. His son, Hirotake Arai, a keen motorcyclist, was approached to create a new design of sun-barrier caps for the growing Imperial Japanese Army. After production was stopped during WWII, Hirotake Arai created the Arai Sewing Machine Company, which produced and exported T-shirts and overalls in occupied Japan in the late 1940s.
When Japanese construction industry unions made protective headwear compulsory, Arai produced safety helmets for construction workers, made from a resin outer shell lined with cork. He wore an industrial safety helmet when riding his motorcycle and established a new business, the Arai Hirotake Shoten Co. Ltd. After being awarded a Japanese Industrial Standards license in 1950, Arai began manufacturing and selling the first Japanese motorcycling helmets, designated H.A. after his initials.
Hirotake Arai's son Michio had spent time in the United States, recognizing a potential market for their helmets. Arai was approached by New Jersey–based motorsport accessory retailer Roger Weston, who later managed the Arai Helmet Americas division, with a goal to recruit an American racer from the Daytona 200 to wear an Arai helmet. Despite approaching top American racers and with hopes of Dave Aldana agreeing, it was not until 1978 that Ted Boody Jr. became the first official Arai racer outside of Japan. In 1983, Dutch-Belgian former motorcycle road racer Ferry Brouwer formulated a business plan to bring Arai helmets to Continental Europe, creating the Dutch Arai Europe division.
Arai's helmets are hand-built, with each fibre-reinforced plastic shell incorporating multiple reinforcing parts laid onto a round base. Shells are assembled inside a concave metal mould, moulded using a process pioneered by Arai, inspected, and cured in a kiln before further processing and inspection.
All Arai helmets sold in the US are made to meet or exceed Snell Memorial Foundation safety standards. A number of Arai helmets meet FIA requirements for Formula One and other motorsports. The company has also developed helmets that meet the new ECE 22.06 standard, which includes tests for angled impacts and measures the twisting forces transmitted through the helmet to the rider's head. The Arai Quantic was the first helmet to pass the new ECE 22.06 test.
From 1999 to 2011, Arai was ranked first in customer satisfaction in all thirteen annual J. D. Power and Associates Motorcycle Helmet Satisfaction studies. The company's commitment to safety and quality has earned it a reputation as a leading manufacturer of motorcycle helmets.
The long-form study of Arai Helmet's history and development belongs to specific primary sources, and this article provides an overview of the company's key milestones and achievements.
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