December 3, 2004 - Erlanger, KY and Ann Arbor, MI - Toyota announced today
that it plans to consolidate its North American engineering and manufacturing
into one company. The new company will be called Toyota Motor Engineering &
Manufacturing North America (TEMA), and will be launched during the first half
of 2006.
Atsushi Niimi, currently the head of Toyota's North American manufacturing
operations, will lead the transition team establishing TEMA.
"As we see it," Niimi said, "this will be a strategic alliance
of our engineering and manufacturing organizations in North America. While there
are many details yet to be worked out, we believe this new structure will improve
synergies and further strengthen our customer focus and quality, strengthen
supplier cooperation, and enhance our overall speed and flexibility."
"Given Toyota's rapid growth in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, this new
organization signals the next stage in our development in North America,"
Niimi continued.
Toyota Technical Center President Yasuhiko Ichihashi anticipates significant
benefits from the new organization. "Our recent completion of the 2004
Sienna and 2004 Solara development programs involved extensive collaborative
efforts between our engineers and team members from the manufacturing operations.
This new structure will facilitate even more cooperation in the future."
TEMA will operate with three centers:
· The Toyota Technical Center will continue to direct R&D activities
from Ann Arbor, Michigan;
· The Toyota Operations Center will oversee Toyota's manufacturing locations
in North America from Erlanger, Kentucky; and
· The Toyota Planning Center will oversee planning and administration
from Erlanger, Kentucky.
TEMA will utilize existing facilities and workforces and there are currently
no plans for a new building to house the combined company. The workforce of
the combined organizations, including manufacturing operations, will be approximately
27,000.
