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.
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
The training schedule is very tight and efficient, the class room training was practical and led by an experienced teacher from Toyota, and the tour visits covered a wide range of industries including car manufacturing, parts processing and healthcare.
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Sanaswadi, Maharashtra, India
I am deeply grateful to Shinka Management, and to Paul, Eri and Ichi, for an outstanding Lean Japan Tour experience. Their expertise and hospitality made the journey both educational and enjoyable. The insights gained from visiting world-class lean organizations were invaluable, and the dedication of the Shinka team to ensuring we absorbed practical knowledge was…
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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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Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Shinka Management organized an excellent tour. It was structured to capture professional development and cultural experience. The tour also provided me with experiences related not only to the local culture and food of Japan, but also to the culture and languages of fellow participants from all over the world. This tour has made a significant…
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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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Brescia, Lombardy, Italy
Dear Paul, Thank you for the nice experience you and your team were able to provide me! It has been a very professional tour and even more a very nice human connection with you and Eri. You have built a nice team that makes people’s lives change! Ciao, Maurizio
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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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