Toyota Brazil shut down its São Bernardo plant in November 2023, marking the return of an 89-year-old Komatsu press to Japan. The press, weighing 700 tons, had been in operation at the Toyota Brazil factory since its purchase in 1934 by an engineering company established by Sakichi Toyoda.
Toyota’s 700-ton machinery is being sent back to Japan.
The Komatsu press was moved from Aichi province to the São Bernardo plant in Brazil in 1962. This move led to a press initiative that boosted Toyota’s presence in South America with the production of the “Bandeirante” car in Brazil from 1962 to 2001.
Even after discontinuing the production of the Bandeirante, Toyota still utilized the Komatsu press for making car components like the Corolla and Hilux. Eventually, the company closed the factory housing this equipment in order to streamline production across three other facilities in Brazil.
The 700-ton press played a significant role in Toyota’s history, leading the company to decide to bring it back to Japan, according to Masahiro Inoue, CEO of Toyota in Latin America and the Caribbean, in an interview with Toyota Times.
It is astonishing that a Japanese company produced and acquired such a sizable object prior to the war, likely funded by proceeds from selling patents and establishing the Toyota Motor Corporation.
The company chose to maintain the historically significant pressing machine in working condition following discussions with President Akio Toyoda.
The machine will be put back in the original spot at the Honsha factory, where it operated 60 years ago, to keep making spare parts. It will also be used to train workers on maintaining molds and other tasks.
