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.



Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
I attended the Shinka Management / Ai Group / JMAC Lean Japan Study Tour in 2010 – outstanding, highly recommended. (I don’t have this much fun when I go on holiday.) To see the cultural home of Lean Manufacturing is an experience you will never forget. Ride on a bullet train, walk the factory floor…
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Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Paul and Eri from Shinka Management clearly understood the brief and greatly assisted in transforming our industry tour into an enjoyable and exceptional experience immersed in Japanese culture. Without their support we would not have gained the same level of factory access, learnings and knowledge. Well done!
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Quezon City, Manila, Philippines
Thank you, Shinka Management, for providing me with the opportunity to learn more about Kaizen. As a Quality practitioner, witnessing the evolution of Toyota and its implementation of Kaizen has been amazing. Learning how to adapt Kaizen principles from manufacturing for implementation within a hospital setting has been truly inspiring. Again, thank you Shinka Management!…
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Adelaide, SA, Australia
I recently completed the Lean Manufacturing Tour of Japan and can highly recommend it to anyone in manufacturing or looking to further their understanding of Lean principles. The tour was highly educational and provided me with a clear understanding of the short-, medium-, and long-term improvements I can implement to strengthen the business.
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Žilina, Slovakia
Thank you to Shinka Management for the positivity, preparation, knowledge, senseis, food, accommodation, photos, and overall care throughout the tour. I learned a lot. I had participated in a similar training program in Japan two years ago, but Shinka Management takes the experience one or two levels higher in several aspects. Thank you.
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Valmiera, Latvia
The Lean Japan Tour program organised by Shinka Management is a fantastic experience for those involved in business and production. It inspires people to make changes for the better and to more effectively organize production regardless of the industry they represent.
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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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