Oct. 31, 1974

TOYOTA STRESSES RESOURCE CONSERVATION
IN NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS

 

TOKYO―The Toyota Motor Company has announced the adoption of a pioneering technological development program created to achieve the maximum possible conservation of resources in the automotive industry.

The program, which is outlined in detail below, has been devised in response to the problems occasioned by the energy crisis and other urgent ecological and conservational considerations.

The primary purposes of the well-conceived and systematic program are: (a) To make economical and practical use of all resources employed in relation to the manufacture and operation of motor vehicles, and (b) To effect the utmost conservation of resources.

The just-announced program has been in the planning or initial development stages for well over a year. Emphasis is now being given to 2 important areas: (1) The production of reusable parts and (2) The manufacture of vehicles that can be recycled.

It is anticipated that the reusable parts area of the program will eventually help to overcome a supply shortage due to lack of vital raw materials. The recycled vehicle part of the program is now resulting in the designing of vehicles that are easier to disassemble and whose parts are more interchangeable.

To program technological development more efficiently in response to resource shortages, a systematic effort is being made to
  1. Economize on those resources which become a part of the product and which are used in the production process; develop high yield production processes; develop low energy consuming production processes; reduce the weight and size of products; and develop highly efficient products with long life spans;
  2. Limit the amount of consumption of resources which the finished products will necessitate; and reform many aspects of modern life, such as transportation system's, etc.;
  3. Recycle resources so that they may be used in production again and again; design products to facilitate recycling (materials, structure, assembly); develop production processes which will facilitate the use of recycled materials; and plan and institute a recycling program;
  4. Develop substitute materials for those which are in short supply; use other more readily available materials and develop substitute materials; evaluate the availability of future resources and develop technology to use them more efficiently; and integrate existing and new resources.

According to the director in charge of this program, there are two paths of technological development which will lead inevitably to improved conservation of resources. These may be termed passive and active.

Passive steps include: (1) altering the production processes and decreasing the size and weight of the products, so that less energy is consumed during production, and (2) producing highly efficient products which will consume less energy when they are in use.

Active means refers to: (1) Collection and recycling of discarded products, and (2) Developing new and alternative resources for those which will be, or are at present, in short supply.

Toyota is including all of these conservation measures in its programs of technological improvement, taking into consideration both present conditions and future product development plans. An outline follows of the 2 major elements on which attention is being focused in the program.

Production of Reusable Parts

Within the past year, Toyota has adopted a definite program with regard to the production of reusable parts. This policy is expected to overcome the parts supply shortage which has arisen due to the lack of availability of necessary materials.

The program is currently moving forward in four areas: (1) How to accomplish the collection of used parts, (2) The development of production techniques for reusable parts, (3) The establishment of quality standards for reusable parts, and (4) Economic and other considerations.

Final reports on each of these areas will be submitted in the near future, and the entire program should be in full operation in two or three years. As the plans are finalized, a cooperative effort will be made by all the companies of the Toyota group to ensure the program's success.

Toyota has been considering the production of reusable parts for several years, but could not act on the idea for two main reasons. First, as cars were not kept for more than a few years, and as few Japanese drive used cars, the demand for used parts was very low. Second, because of continuous model changes, parts became obsolete very quickly, making it difficult to collect enough used parts to make this type of program worthwhile.

The oil crisis, however, has caused large increases in automobile and gasoline prices, thus changing the situation somewhat. Owners now tend to keep their cars for longer periods of time, and the exchange of parts is more common.

At present, the production of reusable parts is being done on a small scale in Japan, for only a few items such as brake shoes, starter motors and alternators.

The Development of Recyclable Automobiles

A further aim of the overall resource conservation program is to recycle the basic materials used in automobiles, such as iron, plastic, etc. In order to do this, vehicles must be designed and built to make the best possible use of resources, and to facilitate their reuse. To this end, three main principles are followed: (1) Use production materials more efficiently to avoid waste, (2) Produce vehicles which will consume less energy, and (3) Consume less energy during the production process.

Incorporating these ideas, the Toyota resource conservation program has begun to make great strides in the advancement of design and production techniques.

The recycling effort is already underway at the Toyota Metal Scrap Co., which was founded jointly by four firms of the Toyota group (Toyota Motor Company, Toyota Motor Sales Company, Toyota Trading Company and Aichi Steel Co.). Here soft-pressed scrap cars are disposed of by large shredders, and converted into small pieces of iron scrap.

Tires are also recycled, with tire scraps being used in road-paving materials. As yet, however, other rubber products, plastic parts and window glass are being incinerated rather than recycled. Efforts are now underway to begin the collection and reuse of these materials.

Details of the automobile recycling program have not yet reached the stage where they may be shown to the public. However, the fundamental goal is to design cars which are safe, easy to disassemble, whose parts may be easily exchanged and most importantly, whose component materials are easy to salvage and recycle.