BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

logistics systems and building a line for tailoredwelded blanking (TWB) that enabled steelsheets with different thicknesses and materialsto be laser welded. These operations haveled to the high-value-added steel processingbusiness that has become an integral part ofTMC’s supply chain management.Overseas Expansion of theBlanking BusinessBlanking?deformation processing of steelmaterials?is an area of business that ToyotaTsusho has been promoting since the 2000s.As part of efforts to accelerate this businessoverseas, in 2001, Toyota Tsusho establisheda blanking line at TTAI-GSC, and in 2005 itset up a blanking department at Toyota SteelCenter. The company also established localcoil centers to supply steel materials to TMC’soverseas plants and provided operationsguidance through Toyota Steel Center forblanking lines, leveler lines, slitter lines, andshearing. To run the plants successfully, thepeople on the ground needed to understandthe concepts of the Toyota Production System(TPS). Toyota Tsusho worked hard at each siteto make sure everyone became familiar withthe TPS, explaining the system repeatedly untilpeople understood it.Toyota Tsusho’s blanking business expandeduntil the company was eventually operating in17 locations in 12 countries, including Tianjin,China; the Czech Republic; Turkey; Australia(later closed); Guangzhou, China; Texas,U.S.; Thailand; South Africa; India; Brazil;Indonesia; Mississippi, U.S.; Malaysia; andMexico.TTAI-Georgetown Service Center186