Aichi Steel (愛知製鋼, Aichi Seikō); is a Japanese steel manufacturer. It is a member of the Toyota Group.

Aichi Steel Corporation
Native name
愛知製鋼株式会社
Company typePublic (K.K)
TYO: 5482
NAG: 5482
ISINJP3160700005
IndustrySteel
FoundedMarch 8, 1940; 84 years ago (1940-03-08)
Headquarters,
Japan
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Takahiro Fujioka
(President)
Products
  • Steel
  • Forged steel products
  • Titanium products
  • Electro-magnetic products
[1]
RevenueIncrease JPY 236 billion (FY 2017) (US$ 2.1 billion) (FY 2017)
Decrease JPY 8.1 billion (FY 2017) (US$ 74 million) (FY 2017)
Number of employees
4,773 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2017)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[2][3]

History

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Aichi Steel was one of the earliest subsidiaries of the Toyota Group. Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, struggled to manufacture automobiles as the steel producers were uninterested to supply his small workshop with the steel sheets for automobiles.[4] To address the problem, Toyoda bought his own furnace that provided his company with the casting expertise and forming equipment that would shape a car.[4] This iron workshop became the precursor to Aichi Steel.

The company was established in 1934 as Aichi Seiko, the steel manufacturing department of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, the predecessor to Toyota Industries.[5] The company derived its name from Aichi Prefecture, where Toyota's headquarters and major production facilities are located.[6][7] It became an independent company in 1940 and changed its name to its present one in 1945.[8]

Today, Aichi Steel supplies 40% of the steel, springs and forged products for automotive use to members of the Toyota Group.[8] This volume underscored Toyota's reliance on the partnership given the sophisticated nature of Aichi's manufacturing services, which few suppliers can replicate.[9] In January 2016, a furnace explosion in one of Aichi's steel mills suspended production at Toyota's entire assembly plants for one week[10] and threatened further disruptions to the company's operations for almost two months.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ "Aichi Steel Corporation (Public, TYO:5482)". Google, Inc. Retrieved December 24, 2010.
  2. ^ "Corporate Profile". Aichi Steel. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "Company Profile". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Hibino, Shozo; Noguchi, Koichiro; Plenert, Gerhard (2017). Toyota's Global Marketing Strategy: Innovation through Breakthrough Thinking and Kaizen. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-351-67154-5.
  5. ^ Karan, Pradyumna P. (January 13, 2015). Japan in the Bluegrass. University Press of Kentucky. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8131-5933-1.
  6. ^ Smith, Michael P. (2004). Pacific Rim Cities in the World Economy. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. p. 211. ISBN 0-88738-735-7.
  7. ^ Karan, Pradyumna P. (2021). Japan in the Bluegrass. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-8775-4.
  8. ^ a b Stuart D. B. Picken (2009). The A to Z of Japanese Business. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-8108-6872-4.
  9. ^ Barnes, David (2018). Operations Management: An International Perspective. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 302–301. ISBN 978-1-137-52578-9.
  10. ^ "Toyota to halt Japan output next week after steel plant explosion". The Japan Times. February 1, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  11. ^ Tajitsu, Naomi (February 1, 2016). "Toyota to stop Japan production for one week due to steel shortage". mint. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  12. ^ Schmitt, Bertel. "Exploding Steel Mill Disrupts Toyota". Forbes. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
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