BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. Furthermore, Fuji Seito ceramics were exported to the U.S.2 Export of Toyota Sewing MachinesAmong the products handled were enamelware, such as washbasins, cups,tableware and lunch boxes produced by Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. In addition,there were Toyota sewing machines from Aichi Kogyo Co., Ltd., that NisshinTsusho began exporting after it launched its trading business, chiefly to BangkokThailand, from around 1950. After exporting 50 Toyota sewing machinesknown as the R3 model to Ono & Co, which was also in Bangkok, Visidha Co.,established independently from the company, became the sole agent for Toyotasewing machines, and export volume increased. In 1951, Nisshin Tsusho exported20 Toyota sewing machines to the S. Nagabuchi company in Mexico.At that time, exports other than textile machinery included ice machines, bicyclechain manufacturing equipment, general-purpose motors, diesel generators, andmatch manufacturing machines.Toyota sewing machine3 Import of FoodstuffsSecuring food products was an urgent issue for Japan after the war, butimports of food products were restricted by the Ministry of International Tradeand Industry (currently, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) due tothe limited amount of foreign currency allowed. When Nisshin Tsusho wasestablished, import quotas allocated to it were $3,000 per item per supplier, andimports were permitted four times a year. Even though Nisshin Tsusho did not yethave a customer, it secured quota for black tea of $3,000. Eventually a deal wasmade with Nitto Norin Co., Ltd. to sell them the entire reserve, and this becamethe first of Nisshin Tsusho’s food imports.Following that, imports shifted to the“priority foreign currency allocationmethod,”in which foreign currency was allocated to exporters at a certain rate(10%, and later 5%). Exporters could now resell their foreign currency allocationrights to importers at a premium (5% to 30%). Toyoda Tsusho also increasedimports of black tea this way and, in 1960, achieved a track record of being in thetop five in Japan for black tea imports.Other than that, there were also imports of Mexican tequila from ImportadoraJaponesa S.A.4 Establishment of Networks in AsiaIn the 1950s, Nisshin Tsusho and subsequently Toyoda Tsusho expanded asimport and export operations prospered. The number of employees dispatchedoverseas increased, while the establishment of liaison offices and branch officesto gather information and expand sales in other countries was promoted, andnetworks spread worldwide over 10 years.East Pakistan (Currently Bangladesh)In 1951, Nisshin Tsusho won an international tender for the construction ofa Muslin Cotton Mills spinning plant in East Pakistan, which was led by PIDC,together with Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd., and Takenaka Corp. In June1952, the company’s Dhaka Office was established to promote this large-scaleproject for building a factory equipped with 44,000 spinning machines and 500looms in the village of Kaligonj, about 60 kilometers from the capital city ofGround-breaking ceremony of the textile mills inPakistan under the first contactResident officers in Dhaka and Executives of MuslinCotton Mill Co.History57