We Are Tomodachi Summer 2017

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8A material with truly outstanding properties, carbon fiber is only 1/4 the weight of iron while being 10 times stronger. Carbon fiber’s applications include sports equipment such as golf clubs and tennis rackets, and parts for automobiles. It also maintains stable performance under severe conditions such as extreme heat and cold. Because of these properties, it began to be used as a structural material for the vertical tails of aircraft and their outer body plating, and today it’s even being used on containers for the solid boosters of rockets and the hull frames of satellites.As the world’s largest manufacturer of carbon fiber, Toray Industries, Inc. is actively expanding its global production systems, and currently conducts its business through an international network with a four-node system of production bases in North America, Europe, Asia and Japan.Toray’s Corporate Communications Department Manager, Toshiki Matsumura, explains, “Our company’s basic principle is to take root in the regions where we conduct our business, contributing to employment and industrial development as we grow. In addition, by establishing business bases in the vicinity of our customers, we closely work together and endeavor to promptly respond to their needs. This, in fact, leads us to technological innovation.”A good example of this is the application of structural photo: Getty ImagesCarbon fiber has diverse applications including aircraft, space probes, rockets, and automobiles.©Boeing©Akihiro Ikeshita©JAXA©TORAYFeature: Raising the Banner of Free TradeFree Trade and Global Investments Create Win-Win Relationships Across Borders