Tokyo-The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd., announced today that its cumulative deliveries of lavatory modules for the Boeing 737 airliner reached 5,000 units in February. The 737 family of short- and medium-haul airliners is Boeing's best-selling line of aircraft, and the aircraft maker has sold more than 6,000 aircraft in that product family. Boeing equips each 737 with two to four lavatory modules. Yokohama has been the exclusive supplier of lavatory modules for the Next-Generation 737 product family since 2004. It is tackling improvements in product functionality and in productivity in pursuit of an interim cumulative target of 10,000 units.

Being the exclusive supplier of lavatory modules for the Next-Generation 737 evidences Yokohama's compelling strengths in pertinent technologies. Small, short- and medium-haul aircraft, epitomized by the 737 family, present more-demanding conditions for lavatory modules than do larger, long-haul aircraft. They require lavatory modules of complex configurations, for example, to accommodate their limited spaces, and advanced molding technology is necessary to achieve those configurations. Space-saving considerations also require the lavatory modules to accommodate such fixtures as video monitors and folding seats for cabin crew members on their outside walls. That means that the materials and the structures need to be especially strong.

Yokohama has supplied lavatory modules to Boeing for installation in commercial airliners since 1980. It was the exclusive supplier of lavatory modules for the Boeing 757 until that aircraft went out of production in 2005. In addition to supplying lavatory modules for the 737, Yokohama supplies water tanks for every Boeing airliner except the 787. It earned a Supplier of the Year award in 1989 and in 2000 from Boeing's commercial airplanes operations in recognition of its superior product quality and service.