A Group of Professionals Manufacturing Cars and Car Parts Worldwide

In the automotive business, manufacturing sits in the upstream part of the value chain. Having been engaged in the export of automotive parts and plant equipment made by Japanese manufacturers, Sumitomo Corporation started to make extensive investments in parts and completed cars to enter the global automotive manufacturing sector in the late 1990s. The goal was to create greater added value in the automotive field in light of industry trends and needs.

The first major challenge was Hirotec Mexico (originally Aventec), a joint venture established in Mexico with car-parts manufacturer Hirotec based in Hiroshima, Japan. Hirotec Mexico started to mass-produce body parts, such as doors and bonnets, for GM in 1998. Later, in 2014, the company began mass production of body parts and exhaust system parts for Mazda. Today, with 1,300 employees and a new plant went into production in April 2019, Hirotec Mexico is further expanding both its customer base and production scale.

The automotive manufacturing business is distinctive in terms of its method of pursuing growth together with companies, rather than just providing them with funds. Personnel from Sumitomo Corporation address business issues in cooperation with the companies' management or by themselves and get involved in production. By respecting the skills and styles of frontline professionals while working with them for the evolution of manufacturing, Sumitomo Corporation has nurtured a hands-on culture in its manufacturing business.

Another characteristic is agile cooperation with other automotive-related sections within the Sumitomo Corporation Group. In Mexico, we have put in place a supply flow to complete the value chain between businesses within our Group. This involves procuring steel sheets from the steel service center as our steel processor and supplier, manufacturing parts, and delivering them to completed cars manufacturing plants. We also set up the Automotive Manufacturing Related Business Working Group comprising more than 100 employees from business units and divisions across the Company to share information and strategies and actively discuss specific business operations. Outside Japan, we are deepening cross-organizational collaboration and proactively sharing information and exchanging opinions to do business in the way best suited to each country or region.