Toyo Steel

Osaka, Japan · Home

Good Design Award 2009 · 2014

We love products that stay with us throughout our lives. In Higashi-Osaka, Toyo Steel makes steel toolboxes, pressed from a single piece with no welds, which have become everyday objects far beyond the workshop.

Rounded corners, a retractable handle, a padlock-compatible latch: every detail is designed to last. Tokyo's Good Design Award in 2009 (Y-350, Long Life Design) and in 2014 (TWR-2 and TWR-4).

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Origin

Osaka, Japan

Toyo Steel in one minute

Our product video, shot by the agency. On the final site, it plays directly in the page; it is free for our retailers to use.

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The brand

Toyo Steel in detail

Toyo Steel boxes on the shelves of the Robinson showroom

単なるツールボックスではありません

Much more than just a toolbox

Toyo Steel is the obvious choice for anyone who likes to see the aesthetics of a well-made object meet the functionality of a toolbox. Whether you are a weekend DIYer, an adventurer who pitches a tent somewhere new every night or a creative surrounded by dozens of tools, this box has everything to win you over.

The best place to store your tools, your camera lenses, your external hard drive and much more, in a light, durable and functional box.

Good Design Award label on a Toyo Steel Y-350 box

グッドデザイン賞

Winner of Tokyo's Good Design Award

This highly versatile toolbox, with its exceptional finish, was originally designed for professional use. Its timeless design, simple yet sophisticated, was rewarded in November 2009 with Tokyo's Good Design Award in the Long Life Design category, thanks to the brand's iconic model, the Y-350. In November 2014, it was the turn of the TWR-2 and TWR-4 wagons to win the prize.

The Good Design Award, presented in Japan since 1957, is the benchmark for design across the country; its Long Life Design distinction honours objects that remain appreciated, and in production, over the years. Toyo Steel has also been ISO 9001 certified (quality) since 2006 and ISO 45001 certified (occupational health and safety) since 2020.

2009 · Good Design Award, Long Life Design: Y-350
2014 · Good Design Award: TWR-2 and TWR-4 wagons
ISO 9001 since 2006 · ISO 45001 since 2020

Detail of the handle of a red Toyo Steel box, Made in Japan

夢は錆びない

Dreams will not rust

Toyo Steel combines traditional metalworking knowledge with first-rate modern machinery. The boxes are pressed from a single sheet of Japanese steel, which makes them even stronger. Starting out with professional tools, the company has been winning over tool and design enthusiasts for more than half a century, from the MoMA Design Store to Merci, Manufactum, Modulor and the Vitra Design Museum.

“Dreams will not rust”: for Taiji Hisashi, president of Toyo Steel since 2002, the company motto echoes wabi-sabi, the Japanese sensibility that finds beauty in what ages. Rust is in the nature of steel, and the patina of a box that has lived is looked upon with affection; what never changes is the care that goes into making it. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019 and is aiming for its centenary, in 2069.

Matte or gloss finishes
Durable, functional and light
Stackable models, in Japanese steel
Designed to be passed on to the next generation

Worker at the press in the Toyo Steel factory

1969年、東大阪で創業

Made in Higashi-Osaka since 1969

It all began in 1965, when Keiyu Hisashi developed a press. The company was founded on 10 June 1969 and settled in Kanō, in the city of Higashi-Osaka, where it still makes its toolboxes, cases and casters. Toyo Steel was the first company in the world to develop the deep-drawing technology that forms a weld-free steel box from a single sheet.

A long-standing supplier to Japanese tool wholesalers such as Trusco Nakayama and Tone, and a partner of MUJI through Sanyei, the company opened a Tokyo office in 2016 and launched two sister brands, KONSTELLA (2016) and ARCHE (2021). From prototype to finished box, everything is made on site, in Japan.

コレクション

The collection

More than 160 references, in three sizes – small (under 29 cm), medium (30 to 39 cm) and large (40 cm and over) – and around ten colours, from black to yellow by way of Japanese indigo and raw metal. The main families: the Y-350 with its domed lid, the T-150, T-190, T-320 and T-360 “trunk” boxes, the ST-350 cantilever with fold-out trays, the compartment boxes and mini boxes, the TWR wagons and the desk organisers.

New for 2026: the ST-350 in “Antique Green”, a deep, vintage-inspired shade, and new sizes in the Bonded Leather series, in compressed recycled leather, which combines structure, durability and a premium tactile finish with the functional spirit of the steel boxes.

ロビンソン限定色

The Robinson exclusive colours

Since 2024, Robinson has released its own colours of Toyo Steel boxes every year, reserved for its partner shops: first on the T-190 and then, in response to many requests, on the T-320 and the Y-350. Limited-quantity runs, never repeated once the stock is gone, to give shops a unique product. They can be spotted on the B2B portal by the “-RO-” suffix in the reference.

In 2025, four new shades also joined the European range: Concrete, Red Brick, Candy Pink and Ocean Blue.

Silver Toyo Steel boxes on a desk, in a home interior

ミニマルデザインのテイストを住まいに

A touch of minimalism in your home

When they are not travelling with you, Toyo Steel boxes serve as decoration in any room of the house. Their curves and finishes recall a vintage sports car, and appeal to a wide range of people, from craftsmen to designers.

No sharp edges, a round retractable handle: use them to store drawing supplies, sewing thread, electronics, glasses, camping accessories, kitchen utensils and, of course, tools. You don't have to choose between practicality and elegance.

In pictures