Thai Hino Industries, one of Hino Motors Ltd.'s major
overseas joint ventures, has been manufacturing trucks since it was
founded over 20 years ago. During that time, Hino Motors, in
cooperation with the Government of Thailand, has increasingly
localized the production of vehicle component parts. Today,
calculated by item, 45% of all such parts are produced by Thai Hino
Industries and its local suppliers. As a result, Thai Hino
Industries has grown into a company which makes significant
contributions not only to the automotive industry but to
Thailand's industrial sector as a whole.
Localization of Thai Hino progressed from the transfer of
vehicle assembly know-how, to the establishment of feasible
guidelines for parts production localization, then on to the
transfer of production engineering know-how for flexible
manufacturing systems, and finally to the transfer of production
engineering know-how for press dies. This paper will describe how
these steps, and especially the final development, were
achieved