Toyo Tyre Malaysia takes home the Team of the Year award in the Manufacturing category

The company’s dedication to continuous improvement reflects a high level of excellence within the team throughout the Toyo Tires globally.

Toyo Tyre Malaysia (TTM), a subsidiary of the illustrious Toyo Tire Corporation, won the Team of the Year - Manufacturing award at the Malaysia Management Excellence Awards. The programme honours the country's most outstanding leaders, innovators, and teams whose initiatives have brought tangible business gains for the success of their companies.

Established in 2011, Toyo Tyre Malaysia has become a prominent figure in the tire and rubber products industry. Situated on a sprawling 148-acre site in Kamunting Raya, Taiping, TTM's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, boasting a total investment of RM1.6 billion, is dedicated to producing high-quality tires for a wide range of vehicles, including passenger cars, MPVs, SUVs, and 4x4 vehicles. TTM commenced commercial production in June 2013, providing employment opportunities for around 1700 individuals, which are comprised of 100% local workforce, significantly contributing to the region's economy.

TTM's award-winning project, aptly named "Empowering Growth and Business Sustainability Through Dynamic Team Effort," reflects the company's dedication to innovation, corporate social responsibility, and sustainable growth. The core objectives of the project include emphasising Safety, Quality, Productivity, and Cost (SQPC), implementing digital transformation, ensuring customer satisfaction, and attracting further investments to expand operations in Malaysia.

The Mighty Team, the driving force behind TTM's success, consists of a diverse group of skilled professionals, blending the energy of youth with the wisdom of experience. The team comprises experts from various disciplines, including Technical Design, Rubber and Material specialists, Information Technology professionals, Production Planning and Control experts, Manufacturing Specialists, Engineering teams, Industrial Engineers, Safety personnel, Human Resources specialists, and Finance and Costing experts.

Since its inception, The Mighty Team has consistently nurtured a culture of continuous improvement, or kaizen, across all aspects of TTM's operations. To further motivate and support their efforts, a reward program was established to recognise achievements through monthly Best Kaizen awards and the Best Kaizen of the Year award.

The dedication and hard work of The Mighty Team are evident in their remarkable achievement of implementing 1000 kaizen projects annually since 2016. Notably, these improvements have been driven by employees at all levels and from various departments within the company.

The kaizen program has successfully instilled an improvement mindset in every TTM employee, paving the way for significant improvements in the company's volume capacity and its ability to meet and exceed customer demands.

One of The Mighty Team's major achievements is the development of the TTM Manufacturing Execution System (TTMMES). Launched in-house in 2021, this tailor-made system has significantly enhanced production efficiency. It possesses the ability to intelligently adjust parameters when deviations occur in the system, leading to a reduction in production errors and improvements in product quality. The TTMMES has also increased production capacity by 10% and has become the backbone of TTM's Lean Manufacturing Systems.

Another noteworthy accomplishment by The Mighty Team is the APM Capacity Enhancement (ACE) project, which addressed a bottleneck issue. In early 2022, TTM was faced with the challenge of producing beyond its design capacity, with one piece of equipment operating at 110% capacity and becoming a bottleneck. Instead of investing millions in new equipment, The Mighty Team brainstormed innovative solutions, ultimately selecting a project to improve cycle time.

This project required the collective expertise of various departments to dissect the machine's operation and address operational issues, safety and quality concerns, and other challenges. After three months of extensive efforts, the team successfully improved the capacity of the APM machine by 7%, meeting the business requirements.

The combined achievements of The Mighty Team, including the 1000 kaizen projects, the TTMMES, and the APM Capacity Enhancement project, have garnered international recognition. The team was selected as the overall champion in the Quality Innovative Circle (QIC) competition for 2021 (ICCS - Intelligent Cure Chart Screening) and 2022 (APM Capacity Enhancement (ACE)), outperforming all other Toyo Tires factories.

As TTM embarks on the next chapter of its journey, the company remains steadfast in its pursuit of excellence. Building upon its impressive track record, TTM is poised to scale new heights of success through a series of strategic initiatives which comprise continuous improvement, digital transformation, talent development and last but not least, sustainability.

As TTM steps into the future, it is armed with a clear vision, a dedicated team, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. The company is committed to continuing its remarkable growth trajectory, leaving an indelible mark on the tire manufacturing industry and beyond.

The Malaysia Management Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2024 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's employee engagements and management initiatives, please contact Danica Avila at [email protected].