Toray Hybrid Cord president steps down

Tokyo – Nobuyuki Suzuki, president of Toray Hybrid Cord Inc., a fibres and textiles supplier and part of Toray Industries, has stepped down as a result of a recent data falsification scandal.

Masahiro Aoki, director of production technology has been named as the new president of the company.

The Japanese parent company Toray announced 27 Dec that an expert committee established to investigate the issue had concluded that the group should strengthen quality assurance (QA) through appointing a chief quality officer (CQO).

Additionally, the committee called for the establishment of a division to supervise the maintenance and effectiveness of QA systems across the Toray Group.

The measures follow a 27 Nov announcement by Toray Hybrid Cord that it had inappropriately overwritten data that was provided in inspection reports to customers.

Toray Hybrid Cord supplies industrial fibres used in tires, automotive hoses and paper production.

Toray said the issue affected products supplied to 13 customers over an eight-year period, April 2008 to July 2016.

Toray’s primary materials supplied to tire producers are nylon and aramid, according to company information.