Section 9. Preparations for Mass Production and Mass Sales

Item 6. Production Capacity Increase with the Goal of Reaching 10,000 Vehicles/Month

Stamping process

In the stamping plants, Toyota added six hydraulic presses in 1957 and achieved a continuous stamping line by linking various machines via belt conveyors. These steps shortened the time required for manufacturing stamped parts, increased production capacity, and reduced the number of stamped parts that had to be kept on hand from two months-worth to one month-worth. Furthermore, between March and July of the same year, Toyota added four hydraulic and three mechanical presses. Along with these additions, roll feeders for feeding steel plates into presses and iron hands for extracting formed panels from presses were installed, improving the efficiency of stamping operations.

In February 1957, Toyota built a new stamping mold plant. This action was taken in response to the increased number of stamping molds required due to an increase in the number of vehicle models produced, as well as to the need to produce molds quickly during vehicle redesigns. By installing advanced mold-manufacturing machines, such as high-performance copy shaping machines, high-precision planers, and precision boring machines, Toyota strove to improve the efficiency of its mold-manufacturing and mold-repairing operations.

As a result of the promoting of capacity increases in various production areas toward achieving a monthly production of 10,000 vehicles, Toyota recorded a monthly production of 9,080 vehicles in June 1959, just prior to the completion of the Motomachi Plant.

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