BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Engaging in the SteelProcessing Business throughToyota Steel CenterToyota Tsusho has been fully engaged in thesteel processing business since the 1960s. Withthe establishment of“just-in-time”automobileproduction, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. neededto rationalize procurement of products suchas steel and level production. To meet theseneeds, Toyota Tsusho determined that it wouldneed to construct an integrated, large-scalesteel center and elected to invest 4.2 billionyen, far exceeding the company’s capital of2 billion yen at that time. Thus, was bornToyoda Steel Center in 1987 renamed ToyotaSteel Center, the means by which ToyotaTsusho could support TMC and other ToyotaGroup companies through the steel processingbusiness. Operations began in March 1968.The center attracted a large number ofinvestors from the Toyota Group?in additionto Toyota Tsusho, the investment groupincluded Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.; ToyodaAutomatic Loom Works Ltd.; Aichi SteelCorp.;Toyoda Machine Works Ltd.; ToyotaAuto Body Co., Ltd.; Aisin Seiki Co.,Ltd.; Nippondenso Co., Ltd.; and ToyotaMotor Sales Co., Ltd. Toyota Tsusho’s steelprocessing business was clearly the subject ofhigh expectations.An 83,400 m 2 site was secured in the Port ofNagoya’s southern waterfront industrial zone,and construction of the plant, warehouses, andwharf started immediately. The first phase ofconstruction?the steel sheet processing plantand wharf?was completed in January 1969,and the center opened its doors to business.The processing plant was one of the largest inJapan (18,000 m 2 ) and could process 23,700metric tons of cold-rolled coil per month whenoperating at full capacity. The wharf was alsolarge enough to accommodate two 3,000-metricton steel freight vessels.Continuing to expand, Toyota Tsushoadded a steel sheet warehouse in September1969, followed by a steel wire warehouse inDecember 1970.Base metal coilExpanding the ProcessingBusiness OverseasIn the 1980s, Toyota Tsusho began providingtechnical guidance to TMC’s overseasproduction plants through Toyota Steel Center.Overseas expansion plans were bolstered inMay 1983 with the establishment of PT SteelCenter Indonesia (SCI) as a joint venture withMitsubishi Corporation. Expansion continuedinto the 1990s as Toyota Tsusho again joinedforces with Mitsubishi Corporation to establishSiam Hi-Tech Steel Center Co., Ltd. (STC),in 1992. In 1995, Toyota Tsusho establishedTianjin Toyota Steel Process Co., Ltd., inTianjin, China.The 1980s was also when TMC started tofully realize its strategy for North America.Providing vital support, in 1988 Toyota Tsushoestablished the Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.-Georgetown Service Center (TTAI-GSC)and entered the warehousing business. ToyotaTsusho would continue to deliver the supportneeded by TMC as it pushed ahead with fullscaleexpansion of local production overseas.By the start of the 2000s, Toyota Tsusho waslooking to expand its operations through ToyotaSteel Center beyond the core businesses ofwharfs, storage, processing, and transportation.These new directions included applying thecontainer vanning technology (CVT) used inStories185