OREANDA-NEWS. April 16, 2015. Toyota Tsusho Corporation ("Toyota Tsusho") announced today that it has established aircraft parts surface treatment company Asahi Aero Malaysia SDN BHD. ("AAM") in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with aircraft parts manufacturer Asahi Kinzoku Kogyo Co., Ltd. ("Asahi Kinzoku").

In recent years, a global increase in the number of air travelers has led to a surge in aircraft demand, particularly in Asia. As a result, more European and U.S. aircraft parts manufacturers are establishing local operations in Asian countries. The Malaysian government is promoting policies to develop the country into a leading site for the Asia-Pacific aircraft industry. From 2010, Malaysia began offering corporate tax exemptions and other investment incentives to companies investing in the local aircraft industry.

The aircraft parts industry has high barriers to entry. Manufacturers must obtain various types of sophisticated certifications to provide heat treatment, surface treatment, and other special processing, including Nadcap (an auditing and accreditation program for quality assurance and special processing developed and operated by a U.S. NPO made up of and managed by major aircraft-related manufacturers  ). As the aircraft industry rapidly shifts to local manufacturing, Tier 2-class Japanese aircraft parts manufacturers with these certifications and an established technical reputation have been slow to expand to overseas markets.

As the first Japanese company to obtain Nadcap certification, Asahi Kinzoku possesses a solid track record and superior technology in the aircraft parts surface treatment field. AAM will combine this technological foundation with Toyota Tsusho's sales network to provide surface treatment for local parts manufacturers and establish a value chain in Asia's aircraft industry.

Toyota Tsusho will leverage AAM's surface treatment capabilities to form tie-ups with aircraft parts manufacturers in and outside Japan. In the future, the company will aim to obtain contracts covering a package of processing services and explore the launch of similar businesses in Europe, the United States, and other regions.