Tomen

Introduction Main Web Site	Tomen (formerly known as Toyo Menka Kaisha) is a large integrated trading and investment company. Its annual revenue in 2003/4 was Yen 1.6 trillion (cUS$14 billion). Together with its numerous subsidiaries, affiliates and investments, Tomen's business interests are world-wide and include most market sectors - notably logs, lumber, and plywood. The Toyota group - a vehicle manufacturer - owns 35% of Tomen's shares.
Businesses Dealing in Products Based on Tropical Timber	Relevant enterprises include: Hoolin Trading Corporation, Tomen Timber, and Toyo Materia Corporation. Although Hoolin Trading operates Tomen's former Southeast Asia log trading business (annually importing c0.1 million m3, mainly from Malaysia, also Papua New Guinea)[ref: Japan Lumber Reports (12 May 2000)], Tomen may still assist with this trade. Tomen supplies North American markets with Far Eastern (i.e. tropical) plywood. Tomen also supplies a substantial share of the USA's imports of plywood for doors and furniture - notably from Indonesia (also China) - at least some of which may derive from North American hardwood. Tomen Timber imports softwood logs, lumber and engineered wood, including 50,000m3 of logs annually from Russia.[ref: Japan Lumber Reports (10 March 2000)] Tomen sold its share in Tomen Materials to the latter's senior executives in 2003. The company was renamed Toyo Material Corporation. Tomen may retain links with this company, which deals in plywood and other (wood) building materials. Tomen also manufactures furniture in Indonesia with Daiken - which, if the wood raw material comes from natural forest in Indonesia, may well derive from timber that is illegal and from unsustainably managed forests.
Scale of Tropical Timber Trade	Softwood timber sales in 2000/1 Yen 16 billion (cUS$ 130 million), which would correspond very roughly with one million cubic metres RWE). Tomen appears to have withdrawn from importing tropical sawn wood into Japan during 1999/2000. However, the company supplies the USA with tropical plywood from Indonesia and China.
Policy on Use of Tropical Timber Products	Tomen seeks to enhance the trust of its partners by operating its businesses with the highest levels of both protection for the environment and regard for sustainability. It does not offer to supply credibly certified wood-based products to its customers nor does it claim to comprehensively check the legality of its timber sources. Tomen's Environmental Policy does not require that its existing businesses and investments consider their environmental impact (unless they expand significantly). Given that Tomen's President has expressed corporate concern in relation specifically to the reduction of tropical rainforest, it would appear to contradict this statement if the company's businesses continue to be involved in the trade of wood-based products which derive either illegally or unsustainably from such forest. Having its management procedures certified to ISO 14001 standards (as Tomen has) does not preclude a company from trafficking in illicit goods (e.g. illegal timber) or wood-based products which derive from unsustainably managed forest.
Contact Details within Company	Address unless otherwise shown: Tomen Corporation 8-1 Marunouchi 3-chome Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8320 Japan 'phone: 81 3 5288 2111 fax: 81 3 5288 9100 Mr Mahito Kageyama President Tomen Timber Corporation Mr Tatsushi Yano President Tomen America Inc. 1285 Avenue of The Americas New York, NY 10019 USA 'phone: +1 212 397 4600 fax: +1 212 582 2007 Mr T. Tajiri President Hoolin Trading Corporation 23-21 Toyo 3-chome Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0016 Japan 'phone: +81 3 Toyo Materia Corporation Alphabet 7 Building (Second Floor), 6-38 Akasaka 7-chome Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8320 Japan 'phone: +81 3 5563 8271 fax: +81 3 5563 8272