Subaru – Factory Tour
Subaru Corporation (formerly known as Fuji Heavy Industries) is one of Japan’s globally renowned car manufacturers. Aside from the automotive manufacturing business, they also have an aerospace business and make aircraft and structural components which represents almost five percent of their revenue.
Corporate Information
- Company: Subaru Corporation
- Foundation: 1953
- Location: Headquartered in Tokyo
- Main Business: Automotive and aerospace manufacturing
Subaru Corporation – Lean Characteristics
Labor Effectiveness, One-Piece Flow Production
Subaru operates two final assembly plants very close to each other in Ota City in Gunma, Japan, and one in Indiana, USA. It produces over one million vehicles from these three facilities per annum with approximately 70% produced in Japan and 30% produced in the USA. Despite this, only 20 percent of their revenue was generated within Japan – meaning their export strategy is key to their success.
The tour will take us through the press, body (weld) and final assembly shops. This is an impressive plant for its labor effectiveness in final assembly (high value-add), its level of automation in the body shop, and the pure size of the press shop.
There is a one-day buffer of parts between the press shop and body shop due to the lot production method used in the press shop, but everything after that is one-piece flow production through the support of its network of component suppliers.
The tour has given me the opportunity to understand in a practical way what I learned theoretically. I have checked that the theory is possible to put in practice. This has been the first time that I have felt the lean manufacturing philosophy first hand. Congratulations to the Shinka Team. The organisation has been perfect…
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Paul, Eri and the Shinka Management team added significant value to our recent business tour in Japan. Well organised custom tour arranged in a short timeframe provided a great learning and cultural experience for our team!
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I enjoyed every aspect of this extremely well organised kaizen tour including: factory visits, translations by Paul and Ben, TPS training, sightseeing, accommodation, transportation, and meals. This tour is a must for anyone trying to understand / implement LEAN into their business or organisation. I hope the tour continues for many years to come as…
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Amazing experience, exceptional learning. If you want to learn about Lean go on this tour!
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This is a great lean tour! Through the week together we have participated in visits to local companies, classroom sessions and hands on exercises. It’s impressive to see how the Toyota Way is really working efficiently and effectively. The organizers are professional, and have good relationships with the sites we visited. They know what the…
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If I had to describe the Lean Japan Tour, I would describe it as a great “experience”. It was an experience in every sense – from being surrounded by a new culture, landscapes, food, people; and learning a successful and proven work philosophy with results that are maintained over time. We were able to learn…
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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 seminars on lean manufacturing, kaizen and Japanese business eqituette, together with hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the kaizen tour overview page.
Tour Inquiries
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.
The above form is for inquiries related to the Lean Japan Tour program, Shinka Management consulting and training services, and lean manufacturing software products. Shinka Management does not represent Subaru. For Subaru-related product and service inquiries, please contact Subaru directly.
Planning a Journey to Japan?
Prepare for your time in Japan with the Shinka Management Guide to Japanese Business Culture.