Toto was expanding production facilities overseas, and was doing business in France and Germany, Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan, Thailand and the People's Republic of China. The company considered North America as a growth market for Washlet bidet seats and toilets, in contrast to its "base" markets of Japan and China.
Dhaniram Toto was recording Toto words to ensure the future generations would be able to read them. However, many words were being replaced with foreign words, such as dui, which is Bengali for verandah.
Origins
Incorporated in 1917, Toto's beginnings mirrored Japan's development. In the first half of 1917, Toto made products to meet the demands for modern, brand new urban housing. It had the first tunnel kiln in the country to continuously produce ceramics. It also pioneered the use of automation to control production, allowing for more efficiency and consistency.
In the late 1980s, the company began to expand overseas in order to take advantage of sales and new markets. The company created the Cera Trading Company to import and market other products of other manufacturers in order to enhance its own range of sanitary earthenwares and plumbing fittings. This strategy increased sales and expanded the market share of the company globally.
In the 90s, Toto began to concentrate on research and development of water-related appliances. It also improved its system of distribution to better serve its customers and increase profit. The company used the same just-in time approach in its supply chain management and sales program. This resulted in a higher level of satisfaction of customers.
Toto continued to develop toilet technology. The latest toilet from the company features a strong, eco-friendly tornado flush. The company also uses recycled water in its production process and has a green purchasing policy. In addition to toilets, Toto manufactures faucets and bathtubs, to-topia.com as well as hand dryers that are more efficient in energy use than typical models.
The first Toto museum opened in the year 2015. It features exhibits on Toto's most famous products, their evolution, the group companies (all of which are made from ceramics), the history of plumbing and even bath units. In a separate gallery you can view Toto products sold all over. The museum houses a bathroom with a WASHLET as well as other toilet innovations.
Before beginning the formation of Toto members of the group performed session work for various musicians. Boz Scaggs' album Silk Degrees featured keyboardist David Paich, guitarists Mike Porcaro & Steve Lukather as well as drummer Jeff Porcaro & Steve Lukather. They also performed on albums by Steely Don, Seals and Crofts and Sonny and Cher.
Discography
You would expect a group with a name such as Asia to be a prog rock band, but it is actually a fairly straight forward rock band. The group began as a quartet and recorded two albums: 1979's self titled debut, and 1980's Armed to the Teeth. The band has a varied musical background but their biggest success was in 1982 with Toto IV.
The album was a massive blockbuster, but it was not without its issues. The record companies put Toto under pressure to deliver a hit single or else they would pull the album. Luckily for Toto they delivered, with the assistance of the smash single "Africa."
Toto's musical mastery owes a lot to their previous experiences, as the band members had been session musicians for artists like Boz Scaggs, Steely Dan, and Seals and Crofts before starting the group. Their distinctive sound has become the standard for 1980s music, and has inspired a lot of contemporary artists.
The album opens up hard with songs like Running Out of Time or Unknown Soldier that show the band's ability to create great AOR tunes that slowly get into your head. The album also contains slow, jazzier tracks like The Little Things and Chinatown. The album concludes with Great Expectations, a song that mixes folk with distortion AOR and should sound like a complete flop, but works amazingly well.
After Toto IV The band's fortunes turned for the worse. David Hungate left the band to pursue a solo career and the band was dominated by drummers. In 1984, Bobby Kimball was fired from the band in aftermath of drug-related charges. However, the group continued to perform as a trio with Michael Porcaro and Steve Lukather.
Despite the turbulence, Toto forged ahead and released Isolation, which was not as successful as IV. However, the band still managed to release another chart-topping album in the year 1992 with Kingdom of Desire. This album marked the end of Toto's lineup and the debut of Simon Phillips, a new singer.
Tours
The band has performed around the globe to an audience of millions, with sold-out shows across Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand. The band's repertoire is vast, and their collective catalog has amassed over one billion streams on streaming services around the world. The band's iconic music has influenced multiple generations of fans.
Steve Lukather has forged a vibrant, intimate friendship with Joe Williams that is flourishing professionally around the world. In 2018 the duo celebrated 40 Tours Around the Sun with a wildly successful global tour. The album with the same title ranked 5 on the Billboard 200. The band's new tour includes their best hits and rarely played live deep cuts, alongside some of the songs from Lukather and Williams' individual catalogs.
TOTO has a customer satisfaction rating of 20 according to its Net Promoter Score, which measures how likely customers are to recommend the brand. Promoters are those who praise the company and actively encourage others to make use of their products or services. Detractors have negative opinions about the company and actively discourage people from using its products or services.
Join Toto for an unforgettable cultural experience in Asia. This highlights tour of the region the French used to call Indochine offers luxurious accommodations, a day on a deluxe junk in Halong Bay, and an exploration of the mysterious temples of Angkor Wat. You will also spend one night in the charming city of Luang Prabang. This UNESCO World Heritage City is a feast for the senses. This is a trip that you shouldn't skip!
Line-up
The band's third album, Turn Back, marked an reversion to the classic sextet format of previous albums and was a stronger, more constant effort with an edge that was stronger than Hydra. Its edgier sound was indicative of the maturation of group and featured drummer Bobby Kimball's increased virtuosity on drums, and a more mature, confident vocal delivery by singer Joseph Williams. David Paich's keyboard work was also sharper, more complex and less akin to earlier efforts.
After touring to promote their album, the group recorded an Amsterdam live show that was released on Eagle Records as a 2-CD set entitled Falling In Between. The group released their new studio album a few months later and embarked on a tour around the world to help promote it. During this time, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes filled in for Paich and bassist David Hungate left the group to spend more time with his family.
In 1998, Paich & Lukather began exploring old tapes and demos to find songs that had never been recorded prior to. It was completed in the form of a double-album called Then and Now in 2001. It was the first album by the band without a single song titled "A". The album also included a previously unreleased track titled "Kari-Anne".
By 2003, Toto had begun to decline in popularity. The group's fourth record, Old Is New was not a commercial success and vocalist Williams was suffering from laryngitis, which limited his singing ability. In addition, Hungate returned to Nashville as a drummer, and Leland Sklar was replaced by Shem von Schroeck.
Downes along with the other members of Asia--Wetton, Palmer, and Howe--convened a meeting in England in early 2006 to discuss the possibility of restructuring the band. This lineup, minus Howe who was busy with Yes at the time, became Toto XIV. They toured extensively.
In 2010, the band reunited for another reunion tour with a slightly different line-up, including guitarists Mike Porcaro and Steve Lukather, drummer John Pierce, bassist Shannon Forrest, and multi-instrumentalists Warren Ham and Dominique Taplin. The band also had an appearance by singer Michael McDonald and a backing vocalist named Mabvuto Carver.
