BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Chapter 3Developing Businesses to Create ValueSection 1 The Metals Division1 Cooperation in Three Business DomainsThe Metals Division sought to expand business in thefour sectors of automotive steel products, iron and steelproducts, nonferrous metals, and iron and steel materials.But a company reorganization in April 2017 reducedthe number to three sectors: automotive metal products,metal products, and metal resources, shifting the MetalsDivision from an organization that handles a singleproduct to an organization capable of supporting multiplematerials.While digging deep in each business sector, the groupsresponsible for these three business domains collaboratedwith each other in an effort to create business value inboth the automotive and nonautomotive sectors. ToyotaTsusho Corporation continued to reinforce relationshipswith leading domestic and overseas business partnerswhile further strengthening its businesses to promotecommercialization and excavation of promising newopportunities. What showed marked growth in particularwas steel blanking, molten aluminum, and collectionof scrap metals (“green metals”) in the three metalbusinesses that, after flourishing in the U.S., expandedinto Asia and Europe as well to become importantrevenue sources for the company.2 Business Expands to 76 Sites WorldwideSince the year 2000, TMC and Toyota Groupcompanies have met the needs of increased sitesworldwide during their global expansion by usingprocessing, logistics, and IT-based order acceptancesystems to build a system of supply chain managementthat achieves the goal of just-in-time supply. In additionto deploying processing centers to provide steel materialfor parts, Toyota Tsusho has expanded into the businessof providing molten aluminum made from reclaimedscrap to users. It also worked to develop resources,operating a rare earth resources separation plant inIndia, promoting the production of lithium carbonatein Argentina, recovering scrap through the processingof waste generated in production plants, and workingtowards the goal of resource recovery through the greenmetals business. As a result, the number of ToyotaTsusho sites expanded to 76 sites in 17 countries aroundtheworld.3 Expanding the Steel Sheet ProcessingBusinessThe Metals Division has promoted the steel sheetprocessing business since the 1960s via its affiliateToyota Steel Center, a key entity in the sector. TheDismantling scrapyardSteel coilHistory131