Toa Koki was established in June 1944, in the final phase of World War II, in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture in Western Japan. Until the end of the war in August 1945, when electric power and materials were hard to come by in Japan, we were mainly engaged in the manufacture of parts for military items to the orders of Kawanami Shipyard located in Nagasaki City.

 After the Second World War ended, we produced such castings for consumer use including pans and pots for household kitchens and stoves for space heating, which were then in short supply. Some time later, we began to produce engine parts for U.S. naval vessels, and by 1950 we were ordered to make cylinder liners for Mitsui Shipping Co. of Japan.

 Cylinder liners, which are our main product item, are used in the heart of marine main diesel engines, and Japanese shipyards used to build cylinder liners in their own plants as they were aware of the vital importance of this item to diesel engines. However, the cylinder liners we began to manufacture on a regular basis in the late 1950s satisfied our customers, who appreciated the quality, the relatively low prices of our products and our punctual deliveries. This enabled us to establish ourselves as a specialized manufacturer of cylinder liners from the 1960s on, and we still enjoy this established position. We will see our 60th anniversary next year.

 Early in the 1970s, we succeeded in practical application of Tarkalloy, a material then developed for use in racing car engines but considered incompatible with large marine main engines, to cylinder liners of such engines. When installed in a marine main engine built by a major Japanese shipyard, Tarkalloy-made cylinder liners proved more tenacious and resistant to wear than conventional products. This alloy is now used in cylinder liners for the large diesel engines of many vessels across the world.

　

　

 The oil crises in the 1970s triggered a rising interest among Japanese shipyards in outsourcing the production of diesel engine parts from specialized manufacturers, and they did so. Today, we fully meet the demands for this item from the Kobe Shipyard and Engine Works of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Hitachi Zosen Diesel & Engineering Co., Ltd., the Kobe Works of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. and, more recently, Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. As our products installed in Japanese-built ships sail the seas all over the world, they have won the appreciation of service engineers abroad for their high quality. This resulted in our designation as a specialized manufacturer of cylinder liners by MAN B&W and Wartsila Switzerland, both well-known licensors of low-speed diesel engines, and our products are now used by engine builders in South Korea, China and Europe as well.

 Our present manufacturing arrangement is such that raw castings are made at the Tanida Works, built in 1992, where the castings are roughly machined and the heat treatment. The intermediate products are then further machined and finally finished at the Yokota Works, which dates back to the founding of the company. The finished products, after going through inspection by LR or any other classification society concerned, are delivered to their respective users, who are our clients.

　

　

 As your are well aware, diesel engines today are required to develop ever higher power outputs. To meet this requirement, parts which weigh as much as nine tons per unit at the maximum have to endure high temperature and abrasive force around the combustion chamber, which is the very heart of each engine. Under such circumstances, we acquired the ISO 9002 certificate in 1995, and are pursuing further enhancement of our technical capabilities to achieve even more strict quality management, develop even better materials and increase the precision of machining.

 We are also making emphatic efforts in staff education to make it possible to hand over to future generations, and even further improve, the techniques and skills we have built up through our 60 year history. We are thus trying to make important contributions to steady operation of ships across the world. I hope this brief sketch of Toa Koki has interested you.