BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

merger.The merger occurred as planned on April 1, 2006, anda renewed Toyota Tsusho made a fresh start as a valuegeneratingcorporation. President Junzo Shimizu saidof the merger,“We are sharing this moment in which anew Toyota Tsusho Group is born and in which it takesits first step toward new growth. The important thingis to consolidate and fuse strengths in both businessand corporate culture to take a big leap. That way, weincrease awareness and our presence as the only generaltrading company within the Toyota Group, and webelieve that we are the type of enterprise that will drivethe creation of value for our customers and society as awhole.”5 Created SynergiesWith the merger, businesses were restructured undersix divisions: Metals, Machinery and Electronics,Automotive, Energy and Chemicals, Food, and LifestyleIndustry and Materials. Each division would tap thesynergies of years of accumulated know-how andstrengths in pursuit of the merger’s major goals.The benefit of the merger was wrought fromintegration synergies, both in terms of earnings andbusiness synergies, derived from the rationalization ofcosts. Integration synergies made possible reductionsin logistics and insurance costs, in indirect divisionpersonnel, in the difficulty of finding the most efficientplacement for personnel, and in the number of overseasoffices, making, in turn, profit growth possible.In addition, the alliance between the two companiesprior to the merger heightened the fusion even in thebusiness areas where it is typically difficult to generatebenefits quickly. One example is how quickly ToyotaTsusho’s overseas sales know-how and Tomen’s overseasinformation network were combined to advance Toyotavehicle dealer businesses in the former Soviet Unioncountries of Central Asia. In addition, Toyota Tsushostarted to make private brand (PB) toiletries availableat the major supermarkets in Japan’s Chubu regionwhere it had a strong foundation. Those PB toiletriesleveraged Tomen’s chemical product developmentadvantages. Further, synergies manifested when ToyotaTsusho’s investment company, Vestech Japan, deliveredelectric generators for a wind power generation projectin Shimane Prefecture?one of Japan’s largest suchprojects?for which Eurus Energy, Tomen’s investmentcompany, had won the contract.The merger brought together two large general tradingcompanies with combined sales of more than 5.57 trillionyen. After overcoming various challenges typical ofmergers, it positioned the new venture for new valuecreation.Mainly Non-automotiveEnergy & ChemicalsDivisionProduce & FoodstuffsDivisionConsumer Products,Services & MaterialsDivisionMetals DivisionMachinery &ElectronicsDivisionAutomotive DivisionMainly AutomotiveThe six business divisionsHistory123