Toyota Tsusho Starts Commercial Operation at Alloyed Aluminium Plant in Aichi

Toyota Tsusho Corporation started mass production of the new secondary alloyed aluminium plant in Tahara city, Aichi in August to ship melted metal mainly for Toyota Motor’s Tahara plant, which produces parts for high grade car, LEXUS. Toyota Tsusho expanded the monthly output of melted metal to around 24,000 tonnes at the 11 plants. The firm targets monthly 40,000 tonnes of output in 20 plants in the world by 2010. Toyota Tsusho controls 67% of the new plant with 495 million yen of capital, which the firm established in November 2005, with 33% share by local secondary alloyed aluminium maker. The firm will produce monthly 1,500 tonnes of ADC12 grade for diecastings, 500 tonnes of new alloy and 400 tonnes of alloy for casitings. The firm started to supply melted aluminium metal to Toyota group in Missouri, USA in 1998. The firm started new plant in Fukuoka in August 2005 after expansion in Eastern Europe, Asia and USA. The firm tries to improve quality and cost competitiveness of aluminium castings for Toyota group. The firm tries to improve the profitability by changing pricing mechanism from current ingot materials with premium for melted metal to raw materials price and processing charge.