Yanmar – Factory Tour
Yanmar is a leading global brand in the design and manufacture of high-performance diesel engines. Their engines are used in a wide variety of applications such as agricultural and construction equipment, marine vessels as well as industrial and energy systems. The company also manufactures its own agricultural, construction and industrial machines and has a well-established global sales and service network operating in more than 130 countries.

Corporate Information
- Company: Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.
- Foundation: 1912
- Location: Headquartered in Osaka Prefecture
- Main Business: Manufacturing of diesel engines and related machines

Yanmar – Lean Characteristics
Leveled Production (Heijunka), Kaizen, Visual Management
Yanmar is a Japanese high-performance diesel engine manufacturer headquartered in Osaka. The company was founded by Magokichi Yamaoka in 1912. Born to a poor farming family and having witnessed the hard life of many farmers, Magokichi had a strong desire to “reduce the burden of the common laborer through the power of machinery”. Under his leadership, the company developed and released the world’s first commercially viable small diesel engine in 1933, which was well suited to the demands of agricultural application and made farming work easier and faster for many farmers. Magokichi’s legacy of innovation and environmental awareness have been reflected in their high-quality products.
The Yanmar Biwa Factory was established in 1955 and is located near Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture. The factory is fitted with cutting-edge production equipment and has developed itself to be a highly flexible plant to meet the diverse needs of their customers. They produce a wide range of vertical water-cooled diesel engines in a high-mix low-volume production environment. The factory achieves flexible manufacturing through leveled production also known as Heijunka in Japanese.
The factory actively promotes and facilitates kaizen activities and great examples of kaizen ideas implemented are on display. The factory tour also features effective use of laser guided vehicles (LGV) as well as excellent visual management tools used throughout the shop floor.

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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Buenos Aires, Argentina
My experience on the Lean Japan Tour was much more than expected. I’ve come to realise that there’s much more for me to learn regarding TPS. The program is excellent in terms of the content, but also, and no less important, the personalized attention made me feel like I am a member of the Shinka…
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Houston, Texas, United States
I highly recommend this tour. You will learn lean from the experts which will greatly facilitate your lean journey.
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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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Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
I would like to thank the Shinka team. They have been doing very well since day one of the program notification. Their work is a demonstration of the lean principles of standard work and Plan, Do, Check and Action (PDCA). The Shinka team arranged factory visits to various tiers of the automotive industry and building…
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run by our team of lean manufacturing consultants 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.