Foundation of Arakawa Sheet Metal Works

In 1946, soon after the end of World War II, entrepreneur Gihee Arakawa quit the automotive division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (new Toyota Motor Corporation), and founded Arakawa Sheet Metal Works in Nagoya's Minami ward. Most of the company's work was in the restoration and repair of automotive components, using the sheet-metal working techniques Arakawa had learned at Toyota. This was vital work in Japan, which suffered from a postwar shortage of materials. About a year after starting business, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. (now the Toyota Motor Corporation) founder Kiichiro Toyoda showed up at the factory on day and asked Gihee whether he was interested in pilot production of auto bodies for Toyota.

Manufacture of Automotive Interior Components Commences

After its success with pilot auto production, Arakawa Sheet Metal began the full-scale production of auto bodies. At the time, it was common for automakers to build chassis, and have body makers build the bodies, and Gihee traveled around Japan doing sales, gradually winning more and more orders.
As this was going on, in 1949 the company began producing automotive interior components under the guidance of Toyota interior engineers. The first auto-interior component to go into full-scale production was a seat for the Toyopet Crown, the first car to be made entirely in Japan. Toyota began selling the car in 1955. At the time, the company's maximum production was about 10 sets per day. During the winter, when the leather would stiffen, the workers would spread the leather in the sun over galvanized iron sheets to make it supple before working it. The Toyopet Crown sold well, and Arakawa Sheet Metal responded by building a mass-production readiness.

Land Purchases Anticipating the Era of Mass Production

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Japan's auto industry kept growing without a pause. Arakawa Sheet Metal was no exception: buoyed by Toyota's export strategy, demand for Land Cruiser vehicles soared. This model came to account for over 60% of Toyota's exports, and sales continued to climb. Then in 1961, Gihee decided to take on another major challenge: he would build a factory in Yoshiwara (city of Toyota). Based on his experience to date, he knew that in order to mass produce auto bodies, he would need a large piece of property for his factory. An in fact, the property for his new factory was 200,000 square meters (nearly 50 acres). At a time when typical monthly production was around 400 cars, this scale was an order of magnitude larger than anything prior. Gihee was confident that increasing motorization would eventually call for mass production, and took a major gamble with the construction of his new factory. Gihee's confidence was not misplaced: his gamble paid off, and enabled Araco's huge success.

Prototype Amphibious Vehicle

The Drive to Become a Solution Provider

The bursting of Japan's speculative bubble economy was a great blow to all sectors of industry, including automobiles, and its impact affected the lives of all of society. Against the background of a severe recession, Araco needed to set itself apart from other manufacturers. As Japanese companies shifted production overseas, Japanese industry was becoming hollowed out. Gihee responded by further boosting his company's technology-development initiatives. The manufacturing industry had reached a stage where product engineering alone was not enough; companies' survival depended on the ability to offer development-oriented solutions, building on a base of strong technology-development capabilities. The company saw a supreme necessity to leverage its strong development capabilities in each field, transforming itself into a solution provider selling technology, as well as developing unique products. In 1997, it launched sales of the Everyday. This original product, developed and produced independently as a concept car, was one example of the company's commitment to its new vision.