Chuo Malleable Iron – Factory Tour
Chuo Malleable Iron is a manufacturer of cast iron and aluminum components. The company mainly supplies to the automobile and electric industries and their major trading partners include Toyota Group companies such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Denso and Aisin Seiki. The company also produces steel furniture such as metal framed chairs which represents around four percent of their revenue.
Corporate Information
- Company: Chuo Malleable Iron Co., Ltd.
- Foundation: 1944
- Location: Headquartered in Aichi Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of cast iron and aluminum components
Chuo Malleable Iron – Lean Characteristics
Kanban System, JIT, Visual Management
Chuo Malleable Iron is a supplier of cast iron and aluminum components to the automobile and electric sectors. The company was founded in 1944 in Aichi Prefecture and started to supply for Toyota Motor Corporation in 1948.
The company has four production bases in Japan, three in the Tokai Region and one in Kumamoto Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu as well as two production bases in China.
Their Nisshin Plant is the biggest plant that produces approximately 2,400 tons of cast iron products and 100 tons of aluminum products per month. The company uses electric furnaces in their efforts to achieve improved environmental outcomes and Just-In-Time fabrication of components based on a kanban system. The factory also features effective visual management examples.
The visit to the Nisshin Plant includes a presentation, a site tour and a Q&A session with senior managers.
Greenwood, Mississippi, United States
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn the Toyota Production System from the source. I look forward to implementing the many findings in our plant. This experience has given me a different approach to improving our plant’s lean journey. Thank you again for everything.
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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Wonderful! I truly loved how we got a chance to see multiple tiers of the Toyota supply chain, and learned the true definition of some buzz words related to TPS. Getting a chance to see it all up-close was impactful.
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Shanghai, China
The overall experience on the Lean Japan Tour is great with a lot of learnings from the trainings, workshops and company and factory visits. The accommodation and meals were also well arranged with the schedule and agenda organized in a great manner. Really appreciate Ben and Paul making everything comfortable and efficient during the whole…
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Auckland, New Zealand
During the Lean Japan Tour I came to the realization that improving an organization is not through large capital investments alone. We were completely surrounded by examples of minor investments into small improvements that produced significant savings. The clever use of visual management techniques gave a clear understanding of the current situation and Ben who…
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Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
I was a part of the November 2013 Lean Japan Tour and would highly recommend it for anyone who is serious about Lean Manufacturing. Ben and Paul are well organised and have put together a great tour. The tour is very enjoyable and a great insight into Lean manufacturing. I have come back with a…
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Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States
The Lean Japan Tour was one of the best quality training programs that I’ve attended. The information is provided in a good learning environment and the hands on activities along with in-plant tours to see the lean concepts in action helped reinforce the concepts. There is so much I learned on this trip that I…
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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
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