Suzaki Industries – Factory Tour
Suzaki Industries is a SME with approximately 60 employees that produces pressed, welded and assembled components for the automotive industry. The company’s major customers are Toyota Group companies including Gifu Auto Body but it also supplies other car manufacturing companies.
Corporate Information
- Company: Suzaki Industries
- Foundation: 1953
- Location: Gifu Prefecture
- Main Business: automotive parts manufacturing
Suzaki Industries – Lean Characteristics
TPS, Kanban, Poka-Yoke, SMED
A visit to this small auto parts supplier will showcase a great example of a successful lean transformation of a company that was once on the brink of bankruptcy when Japan’s bubble economy burst. Under the leadership of former Chairman Suzaki, the company had adopted TPS and made tireless continuous efforts to eliminate waste from their processes while implementing kaizen improvement measures in order to survive and turn around their business.
The former chairman will lead us on a factory visit and discussion focusing on improvements that have been made over the years that has brought them up to the level required to be retained as a supplier to the Toyota Group.
The visit will also include a detailed explanation of the kanban system used within the factory, excellent examples of poka-yoke, a technique used in a lean manufacturing process to prevent human errors to achieve zero defect quality control as well as to implement safety measures. Demonstration of their efforts with SMED as well as an example of layout and process improvement for a production cell will also be demonstrated and discussed.
Melville, Hamilton, New Zealand
What a journey into lean! A week jam-packed with learning the true essence of lean from a Sensei, then being critiqued on your practical application of the skills. Followed up by site tours of what world class lean manufacturing looks like. Highly Recommended.
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Zurich, Switzerland
It was an inspiring week with great learnings around lean and how it is applied across various levels of the supply chain. The tour also provides a nice glimpse into the Japanese culture with its amazing food and friendly people.
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Curico, Chile
For me, the Lean Japan Tour was a journey through different companies guided by experts who explained the tools and demonstrated how to live in a work culture based on continuous improvement. This allowed me to discover new concepts and approaches to facilitate the successful implementation of a kaizen culture in American companies.
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Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia
Excellent, from preparing the tour group on do’s and don’ts to guidance on what to watch out for every step of the way. Cannot recommend this enough if you are looking to learn how to resolve issues, and want to understand the lean approach from philosophy to theory to practice. Thank you very much, Paul,…
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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
During my bachelor’s degree I studied TPS and lean extensively but having the theoretical knowledge is very different to actually seeing it and getting the chance to implement it in the practical center. I have enjoyed my time during the tour and learned a lot about how TPS is actually implemented. The tour was very…
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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
I had the privilege of joining the Japan study tour by Shinka Management, and it was an invaluable experience. The tour offered a deep dive into Japan’s manufacturing excellence, focusing on lean production and continuous improvement. The Shinka Management team’s expertise and seamless coordination made the experience both educational and inspiring.
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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.
Tour Inquiries
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