BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Belgrade Office openingSydney Office buildingSeptember of that year, it opened an office in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, tosupply Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd., assembly parts to the Belgium-based Pinnock-Paxsewing machine plant. Toyoda Tsusho also began handling Makita electric tools,Toyota forklifts, etc., which were used in territories ranging from continentalEurope to the U.K. to Africa.In August 1968, Toyoda Tsusho established Toyoda Europe S.A. in Belgium.Later that year, Toyoda Tsusho set up a Forklift Division for the sales andservicing of Toyota forklifts in San Nicola, a suburb of Antwerp. In March 1969,the company opened an office in Hamburg, in what was then West Germany.Toyoda Europe S.A. and the office in Hamburg each took on different roles inimporting and selling Japanese cash registers, machinery, and spring steel inEurope and in exporting European machine tools, industrial machinery, furniture,and food to Japan. In March 1986, the office moved to Dusseldorf.In October 1969, Toyoda Tsusho opened an office in Paris, and in September1971 the company established Makita France S.A. as a joint venture with MakitaElectric Works, Ltd.In addition, the company changed the name of Toyoda Europe S.A. to ToyotaTsusho Europe S.A. in July 1987.In March 1968, the company opened an office in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Theoffice then signed an agency agreement with a local company and started sellingToyota Corolla. After closing temporarily, the office reopened in November 1980and worked with the Vienna Office in Austria to develop markets in EasternEuropean countries.OceaniaIn June 1971, Toyoda Tsusho opened an office in Sydney. In April 1973,it opened the Melbourne Office, whose main business was importing textileproducts, machinery, and miscellaneous goods from Japan, Hong Kong, andTaiwan and exporting lead to Indonesia. Toyoda Tsusho abolished these offices inline with the start of local production by Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. and in June 1973established Toyoda (Australia) Pty. Ltd., a local subsidiary.Middle EastIn August 1972, the company opened an office in Beirut, Lebanon, to expand itssales of Toyota and Daihatsu vehicles. It closed that office in 1973 amid the fourthMiddle East war. The office resumed business in February 1975, but the Lebanoncivil war intensified, and in December of that year the office’s permanent closurebecame unavoidable.Under these circumstances, Toyoda Tsusho delivered Toyota vehicles to theSyrian government in October 1976, leading to the opening of offices in Damascusand, the following month, in Tehran, Iran. In April 1981, the company opened anoffice in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. And in August 1987, the newly renamedToyota Tsusho established an office in Ankara, Turkey, to sell Toyota vehicles andtextile machinery. The office moved to Istanbul in 1990.74