BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

material and its leveraging of the extensivenetwork created in its capacity as the ToyotaGroup’s trading arm.The Idea at the Heart of theMolten Aluminum BusinessMOST, Inc. (Missouri, the U.S.)Kyushu Smelting Technology Co., Ltd. (Kyushu, Japan)Changchun Tong-Li Aluminum Smelting Technologies Co., Ltd.(Changchun, China)Poland Smelting Technologies Sp. Z o.o. (Poland)Why is Toyota Tsusho participating in themolten aluminum business?One reason is that the added value of moltenaluminum is so much higher than that ofingots, and by positioning its plant next to anengine plant with a foundry, Toyota Tsusho’sproduct becomes incorporated into the SCMof TMC, leading to the construction of a valuechain. This brings great benefits but also greatresponsibility. As part of the SCM, ToyotaTsusho is responsible for the supply of moltenaluminum. Any trouble that might occur hasan impact beyond Toyota Tsusho. If there areissues with supply, production lines might stop,preventing shipments of required automobilesand causing problems for dealers and theircustomers down the line. Toyota Tsusho’splant manager in Indonesia understandsthe challenges.“As we seek to improveprocessing accuracy and become involved inmanufacturing, we need to be conscious ofour responsibilities as a producer,”he says.While it goes without saying for a member ofthe Toyota Group, Toyota Tsusho has madeevery effort to thoroughly implement Toyotastylequality control and safety management bybringing in veterans from TMC as permanentstaff.One of the goals of Toyota Tsusho inoperating its molten aluminum business hasbeen to transform waste metal of unreliableprovenance or quality that flows out throughthe“scrap”vein into an industrial product(molten aluminum) that can be sent into the“production line”artery.By making a business out of recyclingaluminum in this way, Toyota Tsusho canplay a part in creating a sustainable society.In essence, Toyota Tsusho aims, throughits molten aluminum business, to make asignificant social contribution.Stories191