Honda Trading America Celebrates 40 Years of Operations

11/16/2012 — MARYSVILLE, OHIO

It was a simple directive in 1972 - find marketable products to sell in Japan. Since then, Honda Trading America (HTA) has handled shipping logistics for everything from raw materials for parts production to recycling of precious metals.

Over the past 40 years, HTA has become an important commodity to Honda's global operations. The company has offices in five different states, employing more than 110 associates in Ohio who support purchasing and logistics for Honda's operations.

However, when HTA was established on Sept. 27, 1972, there wasn't a Honda manufacturing presence in the U.S. Back then, the company coordinated the shipment of food products to Japan – such as mushrooms, beef and soybeans – that would fill the emptied shipping containers that brought Honda automobiles across the ocean.

A lot has changed in the last four decades. Now, Honda is a global force in the auto industry and Honda's U.S. operations have grown to include six final-assembly lines with the capacity to produce more than 1.2 million vehicles annually, in addition to transmission, engine, ATV and power product operations.

As Honda's operations have grown and evolved in North America, so have HTA's.

"A primary focus of our associates is to ensure supply chain security and quality," said HTA's Senior Vice President Greg Norval.

But, HTA is also involved in recycling of precious metals used in catalytic converters, and scrap generated at the plants. Although this is a minor part of HTA's overall business, this activity is critical to Honda's environmental initiatives.

"We do our best to recycle within our own system," said Norval. "Scrap generated at the Marysville and East Liberty Auto Plants are melted into ingots that are used for future Honda products."

This small group of associates is responsible for maker layouts of suppliers throughout North America. And with more than 600 suppliers spanning the continent, HTA handles supply and logistics for nearly all of the raw material used to manufacture Honda products in North America.

HTA partners with North America Purchasing to negotiate raw material prices based on Honda's total need – from the plants, down through tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers. By negotiating based on the combined need, Honda and its suppliers are able to receive a lower price.

Situated in an office within Honda of America Mfg., HTA associates continue to play a vital role in our daily operations. In addition to reducing Honda's impact on the environment through recycling efforts, they improve the experience of our customers by providing high-quality raw materials that Honda's facilities in North America rely upon to produce high-quality products.

Happy anniversary HTA.

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