Foundation of Takashimaya Nippatsu Industries

n 1955, the Japanese government created the National Popular Car movement (known as the "People's Car" concept) with the aim of establishing a postwar auto industry in Japan. At the time, the Toyopet Crown and other passenger cars were too expensive for anyone in Japan without the income of a doctor or company president. The concept included a low price tag, maximum speed of at least 100 km/h (about 62 mph), capacity to seat four, and the ability to run for at least 100,000 km (about 62,000 miles) without major repairs. Automakers began developing a car aimed at fulfilling the dreams of Japanese households to someday own their own cars.

In 1961, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (now the Toyota Motor Corporation) unveiled the embodiment of this concept: the Publica. A year before the launch of the Publica, Toyota held a meeting with Takashimaya, its subsidiary Takashimaya Kosakusho (now Takashimaya Space Creates) -- which made furniture and building interiors-- and Nippon Hatsujo; Toyota's aim was to form a new company in order to produce interior components for the Publica. The result was the foundation of Takashimaya Nippatsu Industries ("Takanichi") on December 27, 1960, in Shimizu, Toyota City (now the Tsuchihashi Plant). Takanichi was to be a dedicated mass producer of automotive interior components incorporating the interior technologies of Takashimaya Kosakusho and the spring technologies of Nippon Hatsujo. The company name incorporated parts of the names of Takashimaya, Nippon Hatsujo, and Toyota Motor Co., Ltd.
At the time, car seats had a much simpler construction than they do today. Nevertheless, with little in the way of equipment or experience, mass production seemed like a distant dream. Workers were divided into one of three specialties: sewing, seat assembly, and door-trim assembly, learning their jobs through daily training and trial and error. Despite only three months between starting operations and the deadline for beginning deliveries, the company successfully met Toyota's quality requirements while reducing its lead time. The entire company turned out to see off the first shipment of seats. Shouts of "hurray!" and "deliver them well!" went up as the trucks pulled away.

Rapid Expansion of Operations

Following the success with the launch of the Publica, the company started production for the Crown, a car that to this day is still considered one of Japan's top luxury sedans ever. By the late 1960s, the idea of a household car was becoming commonplace. Automakers increased their production volumes, and buoyed by the growth of Toyota, Takanichi built four new factories in the five-year period from 1965 to 1970. The first of Takanichi's new factories was its Yokosuka Plant. The company's expansion into the Kanto region of Japan was aimed at winning new contracts with Kanto automakers, in preparation for future globalization. The new plant successfully began operations in July 1965, and began producing seats and door trim for the Corona commercial vehicle, Crown commercial vehicle, and the Toyota Sports 800, which was nicknamed the Yotahachi by its young fan base.
The next plant to begin operations was the Takaoka Plant. In 1966, Toyota launched a family car it named the Corolla, which would go on to become one of the world's top models. Takanichi was part of this project from development to design, and worked to develop low-cost, pioneering products. After the launch of the Corolla, Takanichi found itself unable to keep up with the unexpectedly large number of orders, and the following year completed its Takaoka Plant as a new production site. The plant's construction followed a lightning-fast plan of just seven weeks from conception to start of operations. Takanichi subsequently started operations at its Shimoyama Plant and Tokyo Plant.

Takanichi in an Expanding World

After overcoming the first oil crisis, the Japanese economy was again showing strong growth. Exports were booming, especially auto exports. Meanwhile, however, Japan's huge trade surplus was stimulating trade friction. In an attempt to reduce the trade surplus by as much as possible, and build a corporate structure less susceptible to exchange-rate fluctuations, automakers rushed in unison to move production overseas. And as its customers moved overseas, Takanichi followed them.
In August 1990, the company set up a permanent office in Belgium in order to collect information on technical trends in Europe. Then in 1995, it started forming new companies in order to begin full-scale production in China, followed by Vietnam and the Philippines. Seeing motorization on the horizon, joint ventures with Japanese companies were welcomed as companies sought to incorporate Japanese technical expertise. Then company founded Taizhou Takanichi Automobile Interior Trim Parts Co., Ltd. (shut down in 1997), followed by Kunshan Takanichi Automobile Interior Trim Parts Co., Ltd., steadily ramping up Takanichi's production in China. After this start in China, Takanichi went on to operate globally, and today has a total of 17 facilities in nine countries.

Strengthening Technological Development

As Takanichi expanded overseas, it was faced with a new challenge: the need to compete globally with manufacturers of interior components from around the world. It had to achieve dominance in terms of both quality and cost, while further improving its technologies as a development-driven company. The company needed to grow into a systems supplier developing automotive interiors as single components.
In an effort to emerge victorious over its competition, Takanichi completed a technical center on the grounds of its Fujioka Plant (in Nishinakayama, Toyota City) in 2000. The new eight-story building consolidated everything from artistic design, development, and engineering design to sales and procurement. The building also includes a large common room for development in collaboration with partner component makers, enabling Takanichi to meet its customers' needs as a systems supplier. In June 2003, the company officially changed its name from Takashimaya Nippatsu Industries to Takanichi. As part of management reforms, largest shareholder Takashimaya transferred its shares to Toyota; as a result, the name "Takashimaya" was removed from the company name. Thus the name "Takanichi," which had been a nickname since its founding, became the company's official name.

Photo Album

The Publica went on sale in 1961. It was Toyota Motor7s response to the "Peo;le's Car" concept announced in 1995.
Economically priced, capable of a speed of at least 100 km per hour, seating four people, and capable of running for at least 100,000 km without major repair, the Publica satisfied all the criteria of the concept. It was the answer to the dreams of countless Japanese who had always wanted to own their own car.

This photograph shows the much awaited shipment of seats for the first Publica. The seats were loaded into a Corona station wagon, as the entire workforce saw them off with shouts of "Hurray!" and "See them there safely!" The manufacture of seats for the Publica was the first step taken by Takanichi as a specialist manufacturer of automotive interior components. Poorly equipped and with little experience among its workers, every day involved learning by trial and error, and this must have made the shipment of the first completed seats a very meaningful moment for all involved.

In order to keep pace with the development of Toyota Motor, Takanichi built a whopping four new factories in the five-year period between 1965 and 1970. This photograph shows the Yokosuka Plant, which was the first of these new factories. The plant started operations in July 1965.
This commenced production of seats and door trim for the Corona and Crown commercial-use vehicles, as well as for the Toyota Sports 800, affectionately known among young people as the Yotahachi.

In August 1990, Takanichi commenced the globalization of its operations by operatiions by opening its first overseas office, in Belgium.
In 1995, a new company, Kunshan Takanichi Automobile Interior Trim Parts Co., Ltd. was established with a view to production in China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Operations in China began against a background of motorization in that country, and the prospect of joint ventures involving Japanese technical expertise was welcomed by local Chinese companies.

In 2000, the Fujioka Technical Center was completed on the grounds of the Fujioka Plant(in Fujioka, Nishikamo-gun). Globalization required the company to become a system supplier capable of developing automotive interior components in modular form, so the design, development, and planning functions joined the sales and procurement organizations in this eight-story building. A large facility has been set up to enable joint development with parts manufacturers, and a structure has been established that enables the company to respond as a system supplier to the divers needs of its customers.

• Publica Goes on Sale
• First Shipment of Seats for Publica
• Yokosuka Plant
• Internationalization
• Fujioka Technical Center

Takanichi has grown based on a focus on car interior components that stretches back unbroken to its incorporation. Since its founding, it has remained committed to accurately grasping and attractively implementing the huge range of automotive visions demanded by its customers.