History

What is Aichi Steel

Aichi Steel was established in 1934. Based on the principle that high quality iron (steel) was indispensable to produce high quality automobiles, we began R&D activities to improve the quality of steel and enhance the productivity.

In 1933, the Automotive Department was established at Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, and the development of automobiles began in earnest. In the following year, the steel making division, which was the starting point for Aichi Steel, was established, and development of specialty steel for use in automobiles began. At this time, the manufacturing technologies for high-quality steel had yet to be established, and based on the philosophy of our founder Kiichiro Toyoda that "great cars are made with great steel" we furthered research and development and were successful in developing forged parts for use in automobiles.

Today, we leverage our steel manufacturing technologies to deliver materials for use in automobiles, construction, civil engineering, and medical equipment.

At Aichi Steel we leverage our steel manufacturing technologies, and today are engaged in developing materials other than steel, such as stainless steel, titanium and magnetic materials. These products are used in construction materials, including for bridges and buildings, as well as compact sensors and medical equipment. Our advanced material development capabilities and product manufacturing technologies are playing an active role in these fields.

Aichi Steel delivers products which facilitate solutions to societal challenges, including the conservation of the global environment, advanced healthcare, and food problems.

Throughout the world of today, many initiatives are underway toward the resolution of a myriad of challenges, including those involving the global environment, resources, human rights, and food. At Aichi Steel we are also furthering initiatives for automobile lightweighting, recycling, and the transition to electric vehicles. In addition, we are leveraging the technologies and know-how we have accumulated through manufacturing steel to tackle societal challenges such as those involving the use of fertilizer to improve the quality of land where it is difficult to grow crops.

1934—

	Organization, systems, etc.	Equipment, technology, product
1934	Establishment of steelmaking division at Toyoda Automatic Loom Works (today’s Toyota Industries Corporation)
1940	Steel section spun off to establish Toyota Steel Works,Ltd (in today’s Tokai City)
1943	Start of operations at Chita Plant
1945	Changed name to Aichi Steel Corporation
1954	Made AIKO CORPORATION a subsidiary
1958		Brought stainless steel rolled angle bars to market
1964	Start of operations at Forging shop
1970	Start of operations at Electronic Maticial shop
1978		Start of operation of 6,000 ton forging press
1980	Received a PM award for excellent workplace	Development of untempered steel, mass production for crank shafts
1982	Start of operations at the No. 2 Melting shop	Start of operations for new steelmaking facilities (80 ton EF-LF-RH-BL/CC) Development of the multiple steelmaking process technology
1985		Start of operation of billet continuous casting equipment (BT/CC) Joint development with partner manufacturers of long-lasting, high-quality bearing steel
1987	Received the Deming Prize Established AIKO SERVICE CO., LTD.
1988		Development of 3D cut steel, mass production for crank shafts Brought titanium shaped materials to market Start of operation of formed stainless steel line
1989	Start of operation of No 2 Bar Mill Shop

1990—

	Organization, systems, etc.	Equipment, technology, product
1990		Completed the 50 ton furnace multiple steel making process (EF-AR-LD-BT/CC)
1991	Received the Ishikawa Award Established Aichi Information System Corporation
1992	Received a special PM award for excellent workplace	Brought MAGFIT600 dental magnetic attachments to market Start of operation of the hot former (rapid forging) line
1993	Start of operations at Higashiura Plant Made Aichi Steel Logistics co., ltd. a subsidiary	Development of rapid carburizing steel
1994		Start of cold work forging production Development of high strength, high toughness bainite steel
1995	Made Philippine forging company a subsidiary (AICHI FORGE PHILIPPINES, INC.)	Development of high strength control rods
1996		Brought construction stainless steel to market Brought MAGFINE 17 to market, Anisotropic Nd-Fe-B resin bonded magnet Development of the steelmaking dust recycling technology
1997	Established forging joint venture in Kentucky, USA (Louisville Forge and Gearworks LLC 100% subsidiary from 1999) Established Aichi Forge USA, Inc. in Kentucky, USA	Development and application of new acid bath technology for stainless steel
1998	Completion of ISO14001 certification of all plants (Chita, Kariya, Forging, Higashiura) Completion of ISO9000 certification of all plants (Chita, Kariya, Forging, Higashiura) Made OMI MINING CO., LTD. a subsidiary	Brought APTY titanium putter to market
1999	Added AICHI CERATEC CORPORATION as a consolidated subsidiary	Development of strong crank shafts Development of ACUTO440 stainless steel for blades

2000—

	Organization, systems, etc.	Equipment, technology, product
2000	Established Aichi Micro Intelligent Corporation (Dissolved in June 2020) Established Aichi Europe GmbH Opening of the Hall of Forging Technology Museum	Brought MAGFINE 18/20 to market, Anisotropic Nd-Fe-B resin bonded magnet
2001		Development of ECOSCUT Steel, lead free cutting steel Brought SUSCON to market, Stainless steel bars for concrete reinforcement Created a lineup of small stainless rolled steel H-shape Established mass production system for Anisotropic Nd-Fe-B resin bonded magnet magnetic powder Development of the high sensitivity amorphous MI (magnetic impedance) sensor
2002	Established Shanghai Aichi Forging Co., Ltd. as a joint venture in Shanghai, China Established Asdex Corporation as a forging mold machining business Established AICHI FORGE (THAILAND) CO., LTD.	Brought ScreenBar Stainless steel shapes to market Brought MAGFINE 25 and MAGFINE 21H to market, powerful heat-resistant Anisotropic Nd-Fe-B resin bonded magnet for automobiles
2003	Established P.T. Aichi Forging Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia	Development of ASTA, a new titanium alloy Brought MAGFIT DX and MAGFIT IP dental magnetic attachments to market Brought TetsuRiki Agri with Iron ions to market
2004	Start of operations at Gifu Plant
2005		Development of ANRP slag recycling Technology Brought G²(“G-squared”) to market, the world’s smallest motion sensor for motion control
2006	Start of operations at the No. 7 Forging shop Made Aichi Techno Metal Fukaumi Co., ltd. a subsidiary	Development of highly sensitive MI sensor able to detect nano-Tesla magnetic fields Development of TetsuRiki Agri B10/C10 designed for alkaline soils
2007	Established Aichi Magfine Czech s.r.o in Libelec, Czech Republic (Liquidation completed in February 2024)	Brought TetsuRiki Agri Super Great and TetsuRiki Agri F10 to market Brought AS shot abrasive to market Established briquetting equipment for recycled nickel material Completed installation of small/medium precision facility
2008	Established AMIT Inc. in Taipei, Taiwan (Liquidation completed in March 2019)	Development of navigation technology for underground markets designed for smartphones using 6-axis motion sensors
2009	Aichi USA, Inc merged with Louisville Forge and Gearworks LLC and changed names to Aichi Forge USA, Inc.

2010—

	Organization, systems, etc.	Equipment, technology, product
2010	Start of operations at Seki Plant Established the Silicon Valley Office in the USA Established AICHI Korea Corporation in Korea	Development of AMI306 compass for smartphones Development of new Dy-free MAGFINE powder
2011		Development of magnet production technology using MAGFINE powder with 30% less alloy Brought TetsuRiki Aqua F14 to market with Sakata Seed Corp.Completed The No. 3 Bloom Continuous Casting Machine
2012	Established Aichi Magfine Technology (Pinghu) Co., Ltd. AICHI FORGE (THAILAND) CO., LTD. moved to Pinthong	Brought small diameter stainless steel reinforcing bar ASCON-D4 to market
2013	Adopted our Executive Director system Completed repairs around the front gate of the Kariya Plant	Brought the high-strength and alloyings-saving steel, MSB20, to market Newly established mass production equipment for high strength abrasive AS shot Development and sales of stainless steel for high pressure hydrogen "AUS316L-H2"
2014		Stainless steel "AUS316L-H2" for high-pressure hydrogen applications used for fuel cell automobile "MIRAI." Start of sales of magnetic field simulator PalmGauss S for MI sensors and start of sales of MAGFIT MIP material for implants Established a 4500 ton press for forging crankshafts at our head office forging plant and forging subsidiary (AFT)
2015	Completed acquisition of metallic fibers business from Unitika Ltd.	Achieved monolithic extrusion forming technology for MAGFINE Dy-free bonded magnets Steel for high-strength control rods adopted for the new turbo engine the Toyota Auris Start of provision of home gardening fertilizer to Earth Chemical Co., Ltd.
2016		Commercialized Dy-free bonded MAGFINE magnets using innovative integrated injection molding method Began sales of ASCON-CD6 small diameter stainless steel reinforcing bar in order to expand product lineup of stainless steel reinforcing bars Start of Production of Metallic Fiber (Amorphous Wire) Joint development with OAT Agrio Co., Ltd. to develop TetsuRiki-TrePlus liquid compound fertilizer with trace elements
2017	Completed new main building. Start of operations at main building Adopted Company System management structure	Automated Driving Demonstration Testing Starts for a Magnetic Marker System Using the Ultra-Sensitive MI sensor Joint development with NHK SPRING Co.,LTD. of High Strength Leaf Spring Steel for Tracks to improve fuel effeciency Operation of the CVT hot-forging press line, a world-class high-speed automatic forging machine
2018	Construction completed for new administration building	Joint development with Mizuno of an Internal Baseball Sensor Module applying MI sensor Completes new power card lead frame production line at Gifu Plant
2019	Construction on the new Ai-Terrace welfare building completed. Opened to the staff and public	Started supply of MAGFINE Dy-free bonded magnets for drone motor use World’s first successful practical demonstration of a heat storage system using a calcium-based material Installation of hot rolling mill line for ring gears completed in anticipation of global expansion Construction completed on a new [steel furnace] as a strategic investment for next generation reduced CO₂emissions vehicles

2020—

	Organization, systems, etc.	Equipment, technology, product
2020	Conversion of Zhejiang Aichi Mechanical & Electrical CO., LTD. into a consolidated subsidiary.	Use of newly developed stainless steel "AUS305-H2" in high-pressure hydrogen applications for new fuel cell automobile "MIRAI." Reduction of CO₂ by converting and using exhaust heat energy of electric furnace (first in Japan) Completion of No. 2 power card lead frame production line at Gifu Plant.
2021		Launch of "MAGFIT M", a new insurance-covered product that meets the needs of dentures in a super-aging society. Establishment of the Co-Creation Research Center with Tohoku University under the Cooperative Cooperation Agreement. Development and introduction of rotating bending fatigue test apparatus under high-pressure hydrogen environment. Success in Developing a Next-Generation Fertilizer that Enables Agriculture in Poor Soil Aichi Steel Develops World's First 34,000RPM, 40% Downsized Electric Axle
2022		Installation of No. 3 PC lead frame production line at Gifu Plant Installation of new production line for forged parts at U.S. subsidiary Success in technological development of wide-range MI sensors for security and medicine fields Approval obtained for "Development of compact, light-weight, resource-saving, high-efficiency electric axle" as one of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) project in "Green Innovation Fund Projects/Next-Generation Storage Battery and Motor Development" Success in technological demonstration of world’s-first high-speed rotation/rapid deceleration next-generation electric axle Installation of new parts production line for “e-Axle” electric drive unit
2023		Upgrade of electric furnace for stainless steel Introduced a burner that combines hydrogen and city gas Introduced solar power generation systems at Gifu Plant (achieved CN at 5 out of 7 plants)