October 2008 Toyofuji Holds Bon Voyage Concert 2008

On 24 October, the annual Toyofuji Bon Voyage Concert 2008 was held at Aichi Prefectural Art Theater's concert hall. The Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra was led by Nagoya-born conductor Yoko Matsuo, and accompanied by violinist Machiko Shimada. Celebrating 150 years of Japan-France relations, the orchestra played masterpieces by several French composers (Offenbach, Bizet, Massenet, and Ravel) in addition to a masterpiece by Sarasate, who died 100 years ago. Mr Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation and senior advisor, Mr Tatsuro Toyoda, were among the 1500 guests who were entranced by the beautifully harmonious performance.

September 2008 Toyofuji Exhibits at Messe Nagoya 2008

Messe Nagoya 2008 was held over four days on 11-14 September and Toyofuji took part as we did last year. Launched in 2006, Messe Nagoya is an international trade fair that provides companies and groups, regardless of their business-type or scale, with an opportunity to disseminate information on their environmental technologies, products, and services in a variety of fields. This year, there were 340 exhibitors and around 45,000 visitors.
As this year's theme was "Environment and Energy", Toyofuji introduced its environmental initiatives, exhibiting a panel display showing "environmental observation", which is a cooperative activity for the National Institute for Environmental Studies, a video about the company's environmental activities, and a scale model of the "Trans Future 5" with a panel display. The Toyofuji booth also offered services such as drinks for visitors and the booth proved to be popular as a small oasis where visitors could relax in this vast venue, ensuring that the event was a roaring success.

August 2008 TOYOFUJI MARU No.2 Goes into Service

On 26 August the TOYOFUJI MARU No.2, a revolutionary domestic large-scale vessel, went into service and the inaugural ceremony took place on 29 August. This ship is the last in a six-vessel series, following on from Toyofuji's transport vessels, the TOYOFUJI MARU, TOYOFUKU MARU, HOUSHO MARU, and HOTOKU MARU, and also Fujitrans Corporation's KINUURA MARU. The calligraphy characters on the bow and stern denoting the vessels name, " TOYOFUJI MARU No.2 ", were based on characters painted by Toyota Motor Corporation President, Mr Katsuaki Watanabe.
Originally, the Kanto, Chugoku/Shikoku, and Kyushu routes were each serviced with separate ships, with the Chubu region as the starting point. Now that the series includes six vessels, Toyofuji has amalgamated the routes and started a new service from 1 September, which makes a six-day round trip between Kanto-Chubu-Chugoku/Shikoku-Kyushu. With this service, cargo reloading work between trips becomes unnecessary, enabling high quality, highly efficient delivery.
Furthermore, Toyofuji has adopted environmentally-friendly equipment to maximize the environmental response, and made every effort to provide a safer work environment. The workers themselves were consulted in order to improve the work environment; the color of the floor paint was changed to a color that is easier on the eyes, and special lighting techniques were also adopted for tunnels so that the entrance way is bright and the tunnel gradually becomes darker to lessen the burden on the workers' eyes. Also, to help workers to deal with the heat, thermal barrier paint was adopted for the roof section of the vessel's deck to control temperature increases inside the ship.

July 2008 Coastal Beautification Activities Carried Out

On 17 July, beach clean-up volunteer activities were carried out on Blue Sun Beach and the grassy plazas of Shinmaiko Marine Park in appreciation of the sea, to which we owe so much. These activities are a part of our environmental conservation activities, and replaced the clean-up activities that took place up to last year, where employees collected trash floating in the water. The company employees who took part worked hard under the blazing sun to collect up the trash that had been discarded along the coast.

June 2008 Toyota Motor Corporation President Presented with Commemorative Frame of his Calligraphy Writing of TOYOFUJI MARU No.2

On 25 June, Toyofuji Shipping President, Kunio Komada, presented Toyota Motor Corporation President, Mr Katsuaki Watanabe, with a commemorative frame containing the name of Toyofuji's latest vessel, "TOYOFUJI MARU No.2", written in calligraphy in Mr Watanabe's own hand. Toyofuji asked Mr Watanabe to bestow the honor of writing the vessel's name in calligraphy, which will be painted on the bow and stern of the new vessel to symbolically watch over the ship's operations.
The TOYOFUJI MARU No.2, which is the same model as the TOYOFUJI MARU, Toyofuji's large-scale car carrier for domestic marine transport services inaugurated in November 2005, is currently being built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Shimonoseki shipyard. It was successfully launched on 8 April and construction is progressing well towards completion by the end of August.

June 2008 Toyofuji Holds TFLM Opening Ceremony in Malaysia

On 16 June, a ceremony was held to mark the opening of the offices of Toyofuji Logistics Malaysia SDN. BHD. (TFLM), Toyofuji's Malaysian subsidiary that was established in Port Klang's Westports in April this year. Guests-of-honor at the event included Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Mr. Masahiko Horie, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia, who joined other guests from Toyota Motor Corporation, TMAP-EM, UMWT and senior executives from the Port Klang Authority. The day's program included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a demonstration of shiploading. The opening ceremony was also an opportunity for the new company to promote its business and become better acquainted with related companies and customers from the region.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Toyofuji Shipping President, Kunio Komada, said, 'It is a great honor for Toyofuji Shipping that the establishment of TFLM will enable us to offer safe, high-quality logistics services to the region. The entire TFS group hopes to contribute to Malaysia's automobile industry and, by extension, to the growth of the Malaysian economy as a whole.'

June 2008 Toyofuji's Aid to Victims of China's Szechuan Earthquake

A campaign to raise funds for the victims of the massive earthquake that occurred in China's Szechuan region on 12 May has been conducted among employees of Toyofuji Shipping. Combined with an additional donation from the company itself, a total of one million yen was donated to the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Toyofuji extends its sincerest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the earthquake and its heartfelt sympathy to those who are facing hardships in the wake of the tragedy.

April 2008 Toyofuji Shipping Holds 2008 Safety Convention

The 2008 Toyofuji Shipping Safety Convention was held on 21 April. Special guests were invited from Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Transportation, as well as guests from our partner companies in the harbor transport and shipping industries. The program included reports on the results of terminal operation and vessel safety activities, reports on the outcomes of environmental protection initiatives, presentations of safety activity case studies, and the presentation of awards to vessels with zero accidents and excellence in energy conservation in the last fiscal year. The plans for safety activities for FY2008 were also announced at the Convention.
Toyofuji will continue to pursue its safety activities honestly, steadfastly and earnestly to achieve our goal of "zero accidents" in all areas of our business.

April 2008 Toyofuji Establishes Toyofuji Logistics Malaysia SDN, BHD.

On 1 April, Toyofuji established Toyofuji Logistics Malaysia SDN, BHD. (TFLM), a local subsidiary in which Toyofuji Shipping holds a 50% share, in Port Klang, Malaysia.
TFLM will operate CBU terminals at Westports in Port Klang, taking advantage of the know-how of the Toyota logistics systems that Toyofuji has cultivated in Japan over the years. It will mainly handle Toyota CBUs and will aim to achieve further improvements in Toyofuji's services on its Asian routes.
 TFLM

January 2008 Toyofuji Holds Ceremony to Commemorate Reaching 100 Million Vehicles

On 16 January, a ceremony was held to commemorate Toyofuji's achievement of handling a total of 100 million vehicles since its foundation in 1964. The ceremony took place outside the center rampway of the TOYOFUJI MARU, Toyofuji's large-scale innovative vessel for domestic marine transport operations, which was berthed at the Toyota Meiko Center.
In the 43 years of the company's operations to the end of December 2007, Toyofuji Shipping has handled a total of 100 million vehicles in its domestic and overseas marine transport services and port cargo handling. The ceremony was held to express Toyofuji's sincere appreciation to the government agencies and cargo owners for their support and guidance, and to its partner companies for their cooperation over the years.
Highlights of the event included a ribbon-cutting ceremony by the guests of honour and Toyofuji executives and the loading of vehicles onto the vessel by each of our partner companies to commemorate the milestone of 100 million units.

Article from CHUNICHI PRESS on 17 January