Section 4. Establishment of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd.
Item 4. Ring Spinning Frame Development and Automobile Research Starts
High-draft ring spinning frame(s) launched
When Kiichiro returned from the United States in April 1930, TALW was experiencing poor financial results. In order to achieve a recovery of business through diversification, work on development of the high-draft ring spinning frame1, a prototype of which had been created in 1929, was continued.
At that time, the downturn in the spinning industry was becoming even more serious as a result of the global depression, but high-draft ring spinning frames and simplex fly frames2 were introduced in response to the prohibition of late-night work under the revised Factory Law, which came into effect on July 1, 1929, and cotton thread production processes were shortened. Against this backdrop of active streamlining investment, it was expected that demand for high-draft ring spinning frames would increase.
The eagerly-awaited type RI high-draft ring spinning frames was completed and launched in March 1931. The machine frame was modeled on a Platt ring spinning frame, and the draft part (fiber drawing unit) adopted a Rieter-type3 three-thread high-draft system.
The use of high-draft ring spinning frames and simplex fly frames shortened and streamlined cotton thread production processes and led to increases in cotton thread production. Textile departments were asked to increase capacity, and the spread of automatic looms accelerated even further. As a result, TALW's financial results recovered rapidly.