[4] To address the problem, Toyoda bought his own furnace that provided his company with the casting expertise and forming equipment that would shape a car.

The company was established in 1934 as Aichi Seiko, the steel manufacturing department of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, the predecessor to Toyota Industries.

[5] The company derived its name from Aichi Prefecture, where Toyota's headquarters and major production facilities are located.

[8] This volume underscored Toyota's reliance on the partnership given the sophisticated nature of Aichi's manufacturing services, which few suppliers can replicate.

[9] In January 2016, a furnace explosion in one of Aichi's steel mills suspended production at Toyota's entire assembly plants for one week[10] and threatened further disruptions to the company's operations for almost two months.