Feature1
The commencing of operations at Toyota Motor Corporation Hokkaido's fourth factory is leading the steady expansion of Hokkaido's automobile industry. In the background of this expansion lies not only Hokkaido's possession of the country's largest amount of large-scale test tracks but also the regionally represented expertise of Monozukuri Nippon Grand Award, Minister Prize of Economy, Trade and Industry winner and automobile parts manufacturer, Dynax Corporation.
With the ever-expanding local-business supply to Toyota Motor Corporation Hokkaido and the flurry of major Japanese automobile manufacturers advancing into Hokkaido, there are signs that the
automobile industry could be a turning point for the future of Hokkaido's economy.
Major automobile companies: setting up in Hokkaido
Encouraged by Toyota's decision to use Hokkaido as a base to support its international sales strategy in the procurement of components, other leading automobile manufacturers are now following suit.
Toyota Group's core business, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. is set to establish a factory in the eastern Tomakomai region, and in the Ishikari Bay Area, industrial-use rubber products manu-facturer, Tokue Inc is also constructing a factory for the production of drive shaft boots to be sold both domestically and internationally to major automobile manufacturers.
In addition to automobile components, the automobile manufacturing machine repair and maintenance domestic giant Sanei is also set to build a new warehouse in the eastern Tomakomai region for the repair and storage of its equipment.
The flurry of advances from these major corporations is giving extra weight to the momentum of Hokkaido's auto-mobile industry.

At the forefront of new car development:25 test tracks, the most in Japan.
Hokkaido is perfectly situated for the creation of test tracks; for the reconstruction of cold climate conditions in addition to demanding and mountain roads. The extensive site locations allow strict tests to be completed safely and, from a devel- opment point of view, with guaranteed secrecy. These superior test tracks are located throughout Hokkaido and with the uprising of the automobile industry, Hokkaido now has the greatest number of test tracks in the country at 25. With tracks owned by Toyota, Nissan as well as other automobile and tire manufacturers, Hokkaido is taking up a vital position at the heart of the automobile industry.
In 2005, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. completed the construction of one of the country's best-equipped general-circuit test tracks at Toyokoro town. Near-to-reality features such as tunnels and concrete walls, the country's largest loop track and artificially frozen winter roads are desirable rarities in the test-track world not to mention the on-site electromagnetic wave interference and ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) tests.
In 2005, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. completed the construction of one of the country's best-equipped general-circuit test tracks at Toyokoro town. Near-to-reality features such as tunnels and concrete walls, the country's largest loop track and artificially frozen winter roads are desirable rarities in the test-track world not to mention the on-site electromagnetic wave interference and ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) tests.
With the focus on a more comfortable drive and developing the skills to achieve this, Hokkaido is fast becoming the base for the cutting edge development and provision of components for the next generation of auto-mobile.



Sales records, creditability: tools to expand Hokkaido's market.
Another side to this regional development and production of automobiles is the positive knock-on effect it has for local economies. Toyota Corporation receives products from 11 local companies and they are using their sales records, as well as the creditability gained from being a Toyota supplier, as tools to further expand their sales. One of these com-panies, transmission spring supplier Hokkai Spring Mfg. Co., Ltd, (Otaru City) has increased production from 50,000 to 500,000 pieces a month. Utilizing their technological expertise, they have been further increasing sales; a deal to supply goods to major automobile component manufacturers within the Toyota Group, such as Aisin, has just been com-pleted.
The same success can be found at cast metal product supplier, Sato Chuko Co., Ltd. (Moseushi Town) who used the deal with Toyota as an opportunity to become the first Hokkaido company to start supplying auto parts to mainland Japan, in this case to JIK Co., Ltd., (Ibaragi Prefecture), a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Ltd. Now, many of these local companies are expanding their sales outlets to companies other than Toyota. At Torc Seimitsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Akabira City), transmission parts are now being supplied to Honda, Mazda and orders are being received from several other companies.
In the future, even more local Hokkaido businesses are expected to exceed the challenge of acquiring the necessary delivery times, product quality and costs to supply their products to leading automobile manufacturers such as Toyota. It is this development of the Hokkaido automobile industry that is raising everybody's hopes.
With more and more enterprises in Hokkaido further reinforcing
their competitive edge, it will lead to a rejuvenation of the island.
Toyota Motor Hokkaido, Inc. Tsutomu Kanou, Executive President
With annual sales surpassing 100 billion yen for the last three years, Toyota Motor Hokkaido, Inc. is becoming an auto industry leader and currently boasts 2,500 employees, the largest of any manufacturer
in Hokkaido. We sat down with Mr. Kanou, Executive President of Toyota Motor Hokkaido, Inc. to ask him about the advantages of and future challenges facing Hokkaido.
"First off, what are the characteristics of the Hokkaido manufacturing industry?"
"Hokkaido has enjoyed its status as a major supplier of natural resources like coal and food despite the fact that it is located in resource-poor Japan. Unfortunately, this status of being blessed with a wonderful natural environment but at the same time not being subjected to stiff competition has left the island unprepared for the onslaught of globalization, currently leading to a decrease in its competitive edge against worldwide rivals. On top of that, as the majority of business was focused on supplying materials to Honshu and other places, it made the processing of those materials here all that much more difficult to take root. So the context is that in Hokkaido, you have an extremely low manufacturing ratio compared to the rest of the country."
"Well then, what are some advantages unique to Hokkaido?"
"Produce and tourism are vital components in Hokkaido, but in terms of securing employment, I think its importance to the manufacturing sector will only get bigger for the foreseeable future. For domestic companies based in Honshu as well, securing that labor force will also be an essential task which Hokkaido should sufficiently be able to handle. The island is capable of pro-viding the talent of a wide age group of men and women accompanied by a high retention rate. I think that "human resource availability" can be an attrac- tive advertisement for enterprises and, in that sense, that's exactly one of the things that brought us here."
"Can you comment on the future prospects of industry in Hokkaido?"
"Hokkaido has to be more aggressive regarding PR aimed toward the main island. It seems that people in Tokyo have knowledge of Hokkaido but not so much in the Kansai region and southwestern parts of Japan. No companies in their right mind are going to make a foray into someplace they don't know anything about.
Even in the area where we are, plenty of companies are just as competitive as manufacturers in Honshu. The companies in Hokkaido we deal with are more than com-petitive.
With the corporate location and local business nurturing campaigns by the Hok-kaido Government, I think it will lead to more competitive companies here and in the pro-cess, revitalizing Hokkaido as a whole. As one of Hokkaido's corporate citizens, I'd like to proactively contribute to those activities."

Automobile Component Manufacturer, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd.
Development in the Eastern Tomakomai Region
The world's No.1 producer of automatic transmission gearboxes, Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aichi prefecture), has announced its plans to begin development in the eastern region of Tomakomai city with the aim of producing cast aluminum engine parts by 2007.
Besides a test track in Toyokoro, this will be the first factory in Hokkaido for the Aisin Group, one of the core businesses of the Toyota Group, which also has plans to construct further factories in Europe in response to increased foreign demand.
Including Toyota Motor Corporation Hokkaido and Isuzu Engine Hokkaido, Aisin is the third company to bring mainland auto-part manufacturing business to Tomakomai. This develop-ment looks set to increase pace into the future.
Aishin Seiki Co., Ltd. Factory Construction
Site in Eastern Tomakomai

Rubber Products Manufacturer, Tokue Inc.
Development in the Ishikari Bay Area
Industrial-use rubber products manufacturer, Tokue Inc (Nagoya city) is ready to construct a large-sized factory in the Ishikari Bay area with operations planned to commence in summer 2007.
The backbone of production will be high-quality / high-value rubber drive shaft boots that protect axle bearings with intended supply to Toyota Europe.
Together with its production in Aichi prefecture, the company, while expanding its sales into the automotive aftermarket both in and outside of Japan, is set to expand its base of pro-duction in Hokkaido.
Together with the development of Aisin in the eastern Tomakomai region, the promotion of Hokkaido's automobile industry looks likely to gain further momentum.
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