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.
A great tour. Having spent over 20 years in manufacturing I now understand the true meaning of Kaizen.
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Amazing experience, exceptional learning. If you want to learn about Lean go on this tour!
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I am now back in the office in rainy Seattle and wanted to say a huge thank you, once again for making the lean tour such an enjoyable learning experience. There are so many valuable learnings and enriching experiences that I am looking forward to sharing with my team and colleagues here in the coming days. I…
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I personally believe that understanding of Lean as the holistic concept and Lean instruments is necessary for all the managers in any business. Shinka Management introduced for us the origins of Lean Production and provided a great opportunity to observe real companies where TPS principles are both implemented and being polished daily. Important parts of…
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If you have embarked on a lean journey The Lean Study Tour should be on your bucket list! It was inspiring to see the Toyota Production System in action as a management system, as well as the small improvements made day in and day out by dedicated and motivated teams all striving to continuously improve.…
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Personally and professionally I found the week extraordinarily rewarding – not only as a fantastic Lean Japan Tour but as a cultural experience not to be missed. Imagine if you will… taking a group of people you had never met before, under your wing, in one of the most crowded cities in the world. Plenty…
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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.