Toyota Boshoku Kyushu – Factory Tour
Toyota Boshoku group operates around the globe and they are a major tier-one supplier to the Toyota Group. The Kyushu company has two plants; the Honsha (head) Plant in Kamizaki City in Saga Prefecture and the Miyata Plant located right by Toyota’s factory in Fukuoka Prefecture.
Corporate Information
- Company: Toyota Boshoku Kyushu Corporation
- Foundation: 1991
- Location: Headquartered in Saga Prefecutre
- Main Business: Manufacturing of automotive interior products, power-train components
Toyota Boshoku Kyushu – Lean Characteristics
TPS, Just-In-Time, Karakuri, Standard Work, Visual Management
Toyota Boshoku Kyushu is a major first-tier supplier to the Toyota Group and produces seats, door trims and engine components exclusively for Lexus models manufactured by Toyota Motor Kyushu.
At the Honsha Plant, a majority of the production area is spread over two floors of the same building where over 1000 employees are purely making seats. The key processes to produce the seats involve cloth cutting, sewing, foam production, seat track assembly, welding of the frame and final seat assembly.
Being a major supplier to Toyota, the key elements of the Toyota Production System are on display including JIT delivery, kanban and standard work.
As with many factories in Japan in recent years, Toyota Boshoku Kyushu have challenged their employees to consider the zero-energy approach of karakuri to improve efficiency, ergonomics and reduce maintenance costs.
The Honsha Plant tour will also showcase excellent examples of effective visual management tools used throughout the shop floor.
The one week Lean Japan Tour not only validates ‘how lean can make business sense’ but also provides the opportunity to learn and share with professionals across different industries.
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Doha, Qatar
A very valuable and well-organized experience. Getting good access to factories where TPS and lean manufacturing are used as well as the instruction from experienced instructors made this a very worthwhile experience. Participants should leave well equipped to train others as well as conduct kaizen practices themselves.
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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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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
The Shinka Lean Management Tour was a great experience, with group members from across the globe. A combination of classroom, hands-on and site visit learning provided good insight into lean principles. The tour was very well organised, ran smoothly and was a pleasure to be a part of.
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Sanaswadi, Maharashtra, India
I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Lean Japan Tour by Shinka Management, and it was an exceptional experience. The tour is meticulously designed for a concise 7-day itinerary, providing deep and practical insights into Lean Manufacturing. The blend of informative sessions and real-world observations made the learning process both engaging and highly…
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This trip really enlightened me in some specific lean topics and showed me all the beneficial aspects of lean manufacturing. The biggest take away for me was a deeper appreciation of not just the tools but the philosophy. The way the trip was organised and flowed was amazing. Thanks to Paul and David from Shinka…
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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
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.