is a Japanese steel manufacturer. It is a member of the Toyota Group.

History

Aichi Steel was one of the earliest subsidiaries of the Toyota Group. Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, struggled to manufacture automobiles as the steel producers were uninterested to supply his small workshop with the steel sheets for automobiles. To address the problem, Toyoda bought his own furnace that provided his company with the casting expertise and forming equipment that would shape a car. The company derived its name from Aichi Prefecture, where Toyota's headquarters and major production facilities are located. It became an independent company in 1940 and changed its name to its present one in 1945. This volume underscored Toyota's reliance on the partnership given the sophisticated nature of Aichi's manufacturing services, which few suppliers can replicate. In January 2016, a furnace explosion in one of Aichi's steel mills suspended production at Toyota's entire assembly plants for one week and threatened further disruptions to the company's operations for almost two months.

References

  • Company website
  • Company website
  • Wiki collection of company history books on Aichi Steel.