Toyota Tsusho was established in 1948. As the sole general trading company in the Toyota Group, we strengthened our overseas operations in the 1980s and 1990s and expanded around our core automotive business. Thereafter, we began to expand non-automotive businesses. We merged with the trading companies Kasho in 2000 and Tomen in 2006 to accelerate our growth into such new business fields as infrastructure, chemicals, and food.
Since 2010, we have expanded the scope and honed the capabilities of existing businesses while accelerating investments in new business fields, such as Bluefin tuna aquaculture and overseas hospital management. In 2012, we made the largest investment in our history in CFAO, a French trading company with a strong presence in Africa. In this way, we are achieving sustainable growth by widening our business field.
Toyota Tsusho's ability to extend its functions widely across a business field provides a unique added value. While traditional trading companies simply supply materials and products, we form collaborative ventures with affiliated companies and make capital investments to develop resources for raw materials, plan and establish efficient supply structures, and reuse and recycle waste products. The linking of value from upstream activities through downstream activities is called the "value chain."
We have special organizations within our company to promote cost reductions and kaizen (continuous improvement) using the Toyota Production System (TPS). Our sites implement comprehensive kaizen activities in logistics, production, and administrative operations, and we also promote these activities among our partners and customers.
A global network is a lifeline for a general trading company dependent on extensive information gathering capabilities to collect intelligence and generate business.
Continuous training to drivers through its training program called TLEP, holding drivers contest once a year to enhance safety driving mentality & improvement of the driving skill of the drivers.
Toyota Tsusho does business with customers around the world through a global network spanning more than 90 countries and 970 group companies. We build business from a local perspective by understanding the culture and history of each country and region, and taking an "on-site, hands-on, in-touch" approach attuned to local needs and driven by talented local staff.
We are dedicated to learning from local communities and growing with them in our effort to contribute to each country and region as a truly global company.
TYC also has expertise in marine transportation with the ship for exclusive use of CBU.
It is said that trading companies are all about their people. The foundation of a Toyota Tsusho person is the Toyota Tsusho Group Way.
The Toyota Tsusho Group Way is shared among group employees in all countries and regions, no matter the work responsibilities, as our core values and code of conduct as we strive to achieve the corporate philosophy and vision.
In workplaces across the world, we share a passion for business, maximizing teamwork based on our "on-site, hands-on, in-touch" approach.