AOTS Journal 2018 SPRING No.12 (ENGLISH)

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JOURNAL2Tell me the background of your company’s start-up of business in India.We have been exporting to USA and China over the years and aimed at Europe as the next target. In 2009, we contacted JETRO about exploring prospective overseas markets and received its support. A turning point for the expansion of our overseas business came in 2010 at Munich, Germany, where we exhib-ited at BAUMA 2010 (International Trade Fair for Construction Machinery, Building Material Machines, Mining Machines, Construction Vehicles and Construction Equipment). We were the only exhibitor from Japan at that time. One of the visitors to our booth was a top management ofcer of an Indian company that later became our customer and this was the turning point when I started to have an interest in India. In the following year of 2011, we became more active to exhibit overseas at several destinations including India and we found a positive feeling that our products could be acceptable sufciently in overseas markets while we realized that a stronghold of production outside of Japan would be needed to make products at an affordable price. At the same time, I had a strong feeling to deploy our management philosophy in other countries as well.Then, I took part in an India investment fact-ning mission organized by JETRO and visited several Indian industrial zones that caused me to assume the state of Gujarat would be the most suitable location for our overseas production site. Incidentally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the governor of that state in those days. Back in Japan, I organized an internal project team to study its feasibility.The following year, in January 2013, we exchanged an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the state govern-ment of Gujarat and took part in ‘Buy Plant Gujarat,’ a large-scale summit for the promotion of investment to Gujarat where I made a presentation ‘Why I should invest in Gujarat’ at its Japan session seminar. I said at that presentation, ‘I can help build better and inexpensive infrastructure for safe and sound progress in India. This will lead to the development of India as a country as well as personal development of all of your people that will consequently lead to progress of Japan.’ After my presentation, I was given press coverage by local news media.We exhibited at ‘BC India 2013,’ in Mumbai in the next month, where JETRO built the ’Japan Booth’ jointly run by several Japanese exhibitors. This joint exhibition style was A Case of Training Program for Human Resource Development by AOTSA Wish to Contribute to Infrastructure Building in India: ‘Make in India’ with Precast Concrete UnitsToyota Kohki Co., Ltd.This issue of Journal takes you to Toyota Kohki Co., Ltd as a case of using two schemes by AOTS, namely training in Japan and expert dispatching. The company has over a half century of history in parallel with the progress of the precast concrete industry and has won a high reputation inside and outside Japan for its high quality and precision products. It founded TOYOTA FORMS INDIA PVT. LTD., a 100%-capitalized rm from Japan, in Ahmadabad, Gujarat state, Western India, in 2013. Before its commencement of operations in January 2016, Toyota Kohki started to accept technical trainees from India under the AOTS training scheme in Japan in 2014, followed by dispatching of its instructors to Gujarat by the AOTS expert dispatching scheme. Local employees including returned ex-trainees from Japan are being offered technical instruction on the way of monodzukuri (manufacturing) by the Toyota Kohki way. The Journal had a chance to interview Mr. Minoru Toyoda, president, on the background for its business start-up in India, unreserved comments on the effect of using both schemes of AOTS as well as his personal ideas on HRD in other countries. Head ofce: Fuchu-city, TokyoFactories: Yoshinogari (Saga) and Fukushima (Fukushima)Established: January 25, 1966Capitalization: JPY 53.5 millionEmployees: 111Line of Business:Design and production of precast concrete units: associated work such as design and production of molds; design, production and installation of production facilities; sales of imported productsBuilding of TOYOTA FORMS INDIA Pvt. Ltd.