- HondaTrading 50th Anniversary of Foundation -

Connecting thoughts
to the next generation
“ACT！HT”

We, Honda Trading, had celebrated its 50th anniversary in March 2022.
The above slogan has the meaning that we will connect the thoughts of society
and customers and take action to further connect those thoughts to the next generation.

Connect thoughts

We would like to express our gratitude for the past and introduce the new thoughts that will connect to the next 50 years.

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Connect people

We have moved forward with the support of our customers. We would like to introduce the connection between our company’s employees and customers through an episode that actually happened.

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Connect time

Why don’t we look back together on the road trip we have taken while changing in line with the times? You may be able to see a trajectory of Honda Trading that is not that well known.

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New Hopes for the Next 50 Years

Connect Thoughts

Honda Trading Corporation was established on March 21, 1972 aimed at searching for new markets and developing distribution channels with unique new products, going beyond the motorbikes, cars and power products of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda).

Starting with the development of new products such as the Kick'N Go, CAFEX coffee, the stainless steel pot, and the import of live cattle, we have focused on the support of manufacturing in response to Honda’s overseas business expansion. In recent years, we have moved forward with the times by working on the electrification, weight reduction and environmental issues such as recycling of automobiles.

Thanks to the support of our business partners and the efforts of our associates, we have been able to continue doing business for 50 years in a rapidly changing world so our sincere thanks go to everybody who has co-operated with Honda Trading.

Now that we had celebrated our 50th anniversary, we will return to the roots of our founding with strong determination and resolve, and open a new era with a spirit of challenge and venture.

Going forward, Honda Trading aims to continue being a company whose existence is expected by contributing to environmental conservation, social prosperity and economic development through the actions of all associates to create a sustainable future.

Kazuhiro Odaka
President & CEO

Stories of Thanks

Connect People

For the past 50 years, we have walked side-by-side with our customers and suppliers. Here, we present some episodes that are packed full with the connections between our company’s employees and our customers and suppliers and feelings of gratitude.

Click to see the detailed story.

Collective efforts with suppliers

This story happened when large-scale machinery was being installed at a Honda motorcycle factory in Pakistan.

I was assigned the task of overall coordination and support to ensure that the equipment manufacturer’s team leader and workers who traveled to Pakistan to carry out the installation work would be able to spend their time in Pakistan in safety and comfort, allowing the construction work to proceed smoothly.

The project was fraught with problems from the very start, with the workers being stuck at the airport for a whole day due to heavy fog, and many of them falling ill even after the work began. The team leader coordinated with me to deal with these problems, and pushed forward with the work on site, even getting his own hands dirty, until the installation was complete.
Even after that, whenever there was an issue with the equipment, he traveled to Pakistan, which was very reassuring.

It is suppliers like this one that support Honda Trading’s and Honda’s production.

Daisuke Karasawa
Equipment Division

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Collective efforts with suppliers

Click to see the detailed story.

Overcoming with suppliers

There was suspicion that aluminum ingots we had imported were contaminated with foreign material, so it was decided to inspect the entire shipment at a warehouse at the Port of Yokohama.
When we asked Company T, the freight forwarder assigned to this shipment, to handle these inspections, they immediately gathered together a lot of workers and set up the inspection process for us. Sweltering in the extremely hot conditions at the inspection site, the workers would check each ingot for foreign material, and I would double-check any ingots that they picked out as suspicious. The whole process took us a few hours to complete while being sweaty.

Fortunately, we were able to confirm that there was no contamination, which allowed us to deliver the ingots to the customer without further incident.
I am sincerely grateful to Company T, which responded to our crisis so readily by bringing in personnel immediately and handling the work on site so smoothly.

Sumito Sekino
Light Metals Division

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Overcoming with suppliers

Click to see the detailed story.

Co-creation with customers

In my fifth year with Honda Trading, while on one of my regular visits to one of the car dealers to which I had been assigned, I was consulted about cleaning of the dealership. Store cleaning is not one of our specialties, so I immediately started researching the cleaning industry.
As I fumbled my way around the issue, a store cleaning company, Company H, kindly answered my many amateurish questions and responded smoothly in the limited time available. Thanks to Company H’s cooperation and speedy response, my proposal to the car dealer was adopted, and we were able to win their order.
I really felt that the customer trusted me. It also made me happy and gave me a sense of achievement of being able to repay that trust with value that only I could offer. I am deeply grateful to Company H, which taught me so carefully about the standards of the cleaning industry from scratch.

Naofumi Onuma
Environment & Reources Division

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Co-creation with customers

Honda Trading’s road trip

Connect Time

Why don’t we look back together on the road trip we have taken while changing in line with the times?
You may be able to see a trajectory of Honda Trading that is not that well known.

Click on the mouse icon to view stories from the company’s history.

1973　Started selling "CAFEX" coffee series

In 1973, we began handling coffee makers, coffee mills, and regular coffee under the CAFEX brand. A major TV commercial campaign was launched, and sales expanded in department stores and other outlets. The development of the coffee makers took place in tandem with Honda’s research laboratory, adopting Honda’s radiator technology and stainless filters, which were rare at the time. The simple design, which had only an ON/OFF switch, was also well received, winning a Good Design Award in 1977.

Later, in the importation of coffee beans, we focused on the robusta variety, which is grown in Indonesia, and expanded the business with a strategy that captured different needs from our competitors.

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1980 Acquired the rights of a live cattles business and farm management

In 1980, we acquired a live cattle business and farm management rights from ACT B Corporation.
The live cattle business involved importing live cattle on the return voyage of Honda’s own cargo ship, Pacific Wing, which transported Civic and Accord cars to the United States. At the time, there were about 15,000 live cattle being imported into Japan every year. Our company accounted for about 10% of that total. We were also the first company to import live Murray Grey cattle from Australia into Japan.

Subsequently, with the increase in demand for meat in Japan, we also ventured into importing live cattle by air, expanding our import volumes.
It was unusual for a company associated with the automotive industry to be involved in the live cattle business, and we received a great deal of attention from the Japanese and American media at the time.

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1988　Started importing and selling NEWTON wine

In 1988, due to the passion of one of our employees who was attracted to the character of Mr. and Mrs. Newton, owners of a winery in the Napa Valley in the United States, and to the couple’s attitude to wine-making, our company started handling Newton wines. The multiple labels we handled included Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Claret, Chardonnay Red, and Pinot Noir.

With its policy of manufacturing without compromise, Honda shared something in common with Newton’s spirit. Newton Wines began as a sales promotional item for Honda, but the wines were so well received everywhere that their sales channels steadily expanded to customers such as luxury hotels and department stores.

In FY1999, Newton Wines was awarded “Best American Wine” at the Japan International Wine Challenge, which is known as the Oscars of the wine industry.

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1994　Established the aluminum smelting plant

The forerunner of MAP Corporation was established in 1994 to supply molten aluminum alloy to Honda’s Kumamoto Factory. Today, it operates three factories in Japan and two factories in China and Indonesia.

Molten aluminum alloy supply refers to alloy being melted in a melting furnace, its composition adjusted, before being poured into pots in its molten form and sealed for delivery to the customer. Molten supply eliminates the process of melting it at the customer’s location, which offers the advantages of curbing costs and reducing CO2 emissions.

As a raw material, aluminum has high recycling efficiency and contributes to weight reduction of finished products. Our company will keep contributing to environmentally-friendly manufacturing.

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2006　Started the wholesale of Honda's CBU

Honda Trading Romania was established in 2006 to oversee imports and sales of Honda automobiles and spare parts in Romania and Moldova. It has also been involved in wholesale sales of motorcycles in Romania since 2011.
It is the only company in the HT Group to sell complete machines, and through its dealer network, it offers not only product sales to customers, but also maintenance services and repair parts.

Sales volumes of both automobiles and motorcycles are showing steady growth in Romania, in line with the country’s economic growth of recent years. Honda Trading Romania will continue to serve as a hub in southeast Europe to expand recognition of the Honda brand and increase customer satisfaction.

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2021　Established Material evaluation technology services company

JTLep Inc., a joint venture with JAPAN TESTING LABORATORIES Inc., was established in 2021. With its main services of measurement, testing and analysis, it delivers services to a wide range of domains, including the automotive industry and the electrical machinery, battery, and semiconductor industries.

Due to the expansion of CASE in the automotive industry, the parts that make up an automobile have transformed, testing and analysis requirements for new material development are wide-ranging, so automakers, engineering companies, and parts manufacturers are required to have advanced technology. Through our evaluation technology services, we will contribute to our customers’ technological development and quality improvement.

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To be a company whose existence continues to be valued

We will address global environmental and social issues and contribute to the creation of a sustainable future.

Report on donations linked to access numbers

As part of Honda Trading Corporation’s 50th anniversary events, we implemented an activity that made a donation to an organization in line with our Basic Sustainability Policy of an amount linked to the number of users accessing* this specially established webpage.

As a trading company, we deliver products to customers across the seas.
We have always carried out business together with the sea over these 50 years.

In this activity, we made a donation to the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology because of the desire of associates to contribute to marine preservation.

All associates hope that we can make even a small contribution to marine research and the development of human resources involved with the sea to protect the seas of the future.

And thank you very much for visiting this page.

* The number of users accessing the webpage from the release date in January 2022 to the end of September

© 2023 Honda Trading Corporation