Quality Management (Customers)

Basic Concept

Based on the Tsubaki Spirit corporate philosophy, the Tsubaki Group is dedicated to maintaining and improving the Tsubaki brand as a manufacturing company through the pursuit of superior quality and thorough quality assurance.

Basic Quality Policy

We do not pass defects on to the subsequent job process. We will all follow the rules, and make quality products.

Established: December 2001
Revised: October 2018

Our Basic Quality Policy adheres to the following principles.

  • We will reaffirm our focus on our customers.
  • We will apply the concept of ‘zero defects’ to our own work, and not pass any defects along to the next process, thereby ensuring quality each step of the way.
  • We declare that every single person within the organization will have a sense of ownership and do a great job.
  • We will look back to our founding principle of “making quality products” and start a new page in Tsubaki history.

“Making Quality Products” as the Starting Point of Manufacturing

Our founder, Setsuzo Tsubakimoto, began manufacturing chains in 1917. When he was excited but had misgivings about the development of a new business, he would remember something that the president of the spinning company that he worked at previously told him when he quit: “Make quality products.” No matter what you’re making, make quality products. Our founder took this lesson firmly to heart and made sure all his employees knew it. This determination made a century ago marked the inception of our manufacturing legacy, which continues to be ingrained in our DNA to this day.

System for Promoting Quality Management

We have established a system for promoting quality management led by the Tsubaki Group Quality Committee.
In April 2018, to further ensure the effectiveness of these efforts, we established the Quality Assurance Department (currently the Safety and Quality Assurance Department) as a headquarters operations overseeing the entire Group, and the Quality Managers Committee as a cross-organizational implementation body.
In addition to traditional quality control assurance activities in each division, the company conducts audits from a third-party perspective of domestic and overseas bases, formulates Group quality guidelines, and implements cross-organizational activities to improve quality. Through such methods, we not only aim for zero defects in quality but also to strengthen our system and abide by our promises to our customers. In doing so, we are strengthening the governance of quality management while maintaining and improving the Tsubaki brand.

  • System for Promoting Group Quality Management

    System for Promoting Group Quality Management
  • Framework for Strengthening the Quality Management System

    Framework for Strengthening the Quality Management System

Quality Management System

The Group has obtained ISO 9001 certification, the international standard for quality management systems, at its manufacturing bases in Japan and overseas. As such, we have established a framework for quality management based on the ISO.

Quality Education and Human Resource Interactions

Quality audit at an overseas subsidiary (Shanghai, China)
Quality audit at an overseas subsidiary (Shanghai, China)

The Group aims to improve quality management skills by developing level-specific education on “quality” and “improvement” in our companywide educational system. As we move forward, we will enhance quality specialist education centered on the Safety and Quality Assurance Department, such as providing education on statistical methodology, nurturing lecturers, and promoting the acquisition of quality control examination certificates as well as implementing initiatives such as fieldwork for quality training participants from Group companies for a period of one or two years. At the same time, we are operating a cross-Group improvement proposal system and fostering a culture of everyday improvements among all employees, and are deploying these improvements to other areas in order to maximize their effects.

Principal Initiatives for FY 2025

Power Transmission Operations World Heat Treatment Quality Congress

Following the previous fiscal year, the Power Transmission Operations World Heat Treatment Quality Congress was held at the Kyotanabe Plant for two days from October 27, 2025. The congress was attended by 41 heat treatment managers from sites in North America, Asia, and Japan that have heat treatment equipment. Active discussions took place on a wide range of themes, including the certification status of heat treatment operation experts and inspectors at each site, sharing of equipment management and safety activities, and the exchange of information on decarbonization of heat treatment processes, making it a highly meaningful conference.
At this congress, we were able to clarify future activities, including conducting heat treatment quality audits at domestic and overseas sites and developing and certifying local auditors, and agreed to continue activities toward further reducing quality risks related to heat treatment.

Heat treatment personnel from sites in North America, Asia, and Japan
Active discussions toward decarbonization of heat treatment processes

Quality Award Received from Automobile Manufacturers Again This Fiscal Year

Certificate and plaque awarded by Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd.

In FY 2025, the Mobility Division received the Excellent Quality Award from Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. This award is presented to suppliers that have achieved excellent results through proactive promotion of quality control and made significant contributions to improving the quality of Daihatsu vehicles.
In addition, Group companies in the United States and Thailand also received quality awards from their respective customers.

Toward a Sustainable Society

The Tsubaki Group is engaged in the “art of moving” and aims to provide value that exceeds expectations
to become a company that continues to be needed by society.