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In April 2002, Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd., was named “Supplier of the Year 2001” by General Motors Corporation of the U.S., the world’s biggest automaker. The honor goes to suppliers that have made a significant contribution to GM’s business, evaluating them on their ability to meet its expectations for quality, service, technology, and price. Sumitomo Metals has received the award three times in total, including two in consecutive years.
Says Tetsuo Kurosu, general manager of Sumitomo Metals automotive steel sheet sales department, “The people at GM told us that the judging was especially tough this time. The number of companies receiving an award was just of half of last year’s number. We were the only steel manufacturer to be selected in the Asia-Pacific region. We consider it a tremendous honor.”
Sumitomo Metals has been supplying steel sheet to automakers since the early 1960s. The company began supplying GM and Ford in 1971, and today its products are used by automakers worldwide. The company’s crude steel production totaled 11.47 million tons in 2001, of which around 40 percent (4.42 million tons) was destined for steel sheet production. About half that is used in car manufacture.
“As well as in the auto body, steel sheet is used in the chassis, wheels, and suspension. Japan’s market for small cars (engine displacement of 1500cc or less) has grown in recent years, but steel use is increasing even in these compact, lightweight vehicles for safety reasons,” explains Takao Nishino, general manager of the steel sheet marketing & technical service department.
The Kashima Steel Works, the company’s steel sheet manu-facturing base, boasts one of the world’s largest blast furnaces, with a capacity of 5000 m3. Productivity is the highest in the world, and is expected to improve further after the new blast furnace currently under construction is completed in 2004, bringing annual production capacity to 8 million tons.
As well as excelling in productivity and cost competitiveness, Sumitomo Metals is known for outstanding quality. This is reflected in is very low number of complaints. In 2001, the company received zero complaints from Toyota Motor Corporation, reputed to be the most quality conscious customer in the world. “Our products are world-class, because we’ve always worked hard to meet the stringent quality standards of Japanese manufacturers,” says Kurosu. His statement is substantiated by the numerous quality awards Sumitomo Metals has received from automakers around the world in addition to GM Supplier of the Year, such as Ford’s Q1 and Toyota’s Excellent Quality awards. |
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| General Motors’ 2001 Supplier of the Year awards ceremony. Then-Vice President Mikio Kato (center) received the award on behalf of Sumitomo Metals, Japan’s only steel maker to win the honor. |
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| Tetsuo Kurosu (left) and Takao Nishino (right), general managers of Sumitomo Metals |
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