BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

hoped that the joint venture would expand sales of slit processed products, such asheat exchange parts for automobiles.Downstream Expansion by the Jewelry DepartmentIn 1989, Toyota Tsusho’s Jewelry Department established Watchman, Inc.,as a joint venture with Watchman, a mass retailer of watches, cameras, andconsumer electronics to expand Toyota Tsusho’s downstream business in jewelryand precious metals. The market, though, was sluggish due to the bursting of thebubble economy, and Watchman, Inc., was only able to stay in business by closingunprofitable stores and by compressing inventory. But ultimately Watchman, Inc.,was dissolved in 2005.The Jewelry Department, meanwhile, was incorporated into the ConsumerProducts and Services Division following a reorganization in 1999.Watchman, Inc.2 Business Development of the Machinery DivisionIntegration with the Information Electronics DivisionThe Machinery Division, which had been reorganized into five departments inJuly 1991: Machinery Departments 1 and 2, the Tokyo Machinery Department,the Osaka Machinery Department, and the Textile Machinery Department, wasagain reorganized in 1993. Machinery Department 1 was divided into the ToyotaMachinery Department and the Kariya Machinery Department, MachineryDepartment 2 became the Machinery Department, and a Machinery Planningand Development Section was added to serve as a think tank, making a sixdepartment,one-section structure. In 1995, the Textile Machinery Department wasincorporated into the Machinery Department, resulting in a five-department, onesectionstructure.In June 1999, in a company-wide organizational change, the MachineryDivision was integrated with the Information Electronics Division and became theMachinery and Information Technology Division.Strengthening Proposal-Type SalesIn the 1990s, the Machinery Division, which relied on the automotive fields forover 80% of its sales, continued to face difficulties caused by the end of the bubbleeconomy. As capital investment was mainly small scale, such as improvementsto aging facilities, Toyota Tsusho strengthened its proposal-type sales to expandbusiness and worked on the development of nonautomotive fields and newtechnologies and products.In 1992, Toyota Tsusho established the Kyushu Sub Branch Kurate Officein Kurate District, Fukuoka Prefecture, to support Toyota Motor Kyushu, Inc.Here Toyota Tsusho began manufacturing iron pallets for automobile panels,automation equipment, and auxiliary equipment for can manufacturing throughtie-ups with local manufacturers.Overseas business was relatively strong. When Toyota Motor ManufacturingUSA (TMM) was constructing in late 1980s by TMC in Kentucky, the U.S.,Toyota Tsusho’s Machinery Department provided production preparation,installation, and machine services. It provided similar services in December 1992for the establishment of the Derby plant of Toyota Motor Manufacturing (U.K.)History97