15th November, 2000
Toyota Purchases From Minority Businesses Exceed 3 Percent
Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TMMNA), the nation's fourth largest automaker, announced today that it is not only on schedule to meet its 5 percent spending target for Tier I suppliers, but more than 3 percent of its current purchases from U.S. suppliers is from minority business enterprises (MBEs).
The announcement by TMMNA President Teruyuki Minoura came as representatives from more than 400 minority-owned businesses and 200 Tier I automotive suppliers gathered today in Cincinnati for Toyota Opportunity Exchange 2000, a conference and trade fair Toyota initiated in 1990 to provide MBEs the chance to network and develop relationships with some of its largest suppliers.
"Our efforts to increase our purchases from minority-owned firms have helped us make good progress toward our goal, but we must work together to do more," said Minoura during a luncheon presentation at Opportunity Exchange. "Careful planning and a commitment from our suppliers will be key to meeting or exceeding our purchasing goals by 2002." Minoura is referring to Toyota's 1997 announcement of 5 percent minority spending targets for both Tier I and Tier II suppliers to be achieved by the year 2002.
Through various initiatives, including Opportunity Exchange, Toyota is making a clear commitment to promote minority business opportunities. Since the first Opportunity Exchange in 1990, the event has grown from 100 participants and $350,000 in Tier I-MBE contracts to more than 1,200 participants and in excess of $30 million in Tier I-MBE contracts through 1999. Last year, the event generated over $10 million in new contracts for the minority supplier community, $2 million more than ever generated in one year.
This year, Toyota is raising awareness about the increasing diversity among the minority business community with a luncheon keynote by a Hispanic businesswoman, Linda Alvarado, president and chief operating officer of Denver-based Alvarado Construction, Inc. and the nation's first Hispanic owner of a major league baseball franchise, the Colorado Rockies. "Our speakers embody the essence of American business today and serve as role models and mentors for aspiring MBEs," said Chuck Hendrix, chair of Toyota's Opportunity Exchange planning committee.
Alvarado is very active in business, civic and charitable organizations and has been honored with the prestigious Sara Lee Corporation Frontrunner Award for exemplary achievement and leadership. She was previously named Business Woman of the Year by the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and she is past recipient of the National Minority Supplier Development Council Leadership Award, Hendrix added.
Toyota's Tier I suppliers, those who provide parts, materials and services directly to Toyota, attend the Opportunity Exchange trade fair annually as exhibitors for the purpose of increasing their business with minority-owned firms.
Superior Maintenance Co., a minority-owned company based in Elizabethtown, Ky., has been attending Toyota's Opportunity Exchange for many years and has found it a valuable networking tool for becoming an integral part of Toyota's supplier base. "We would not miss this show for the world," said Kevin Shurn, president of Superior Maintenance Co., about Opportunity Exchange. "We feel that Toyota shares our values by placing just as much emphasis on diversity as it does on quality, cost and delivery when it comes to its suppliers."
As one of Toyota's Tier I suppliers, Shurn recognizes the value such forums bring to both Tier I and MBE suppliers. "Toyota's Opportunity Exchange has helped our company immensely," Shurn said. "As a Tier I supplier for seven years, our business has grown with Toyota from $100,000 to over $4 million."
In addition to the networking trade fair and keynote address underscoring this year's theme, "Keeping Pace in a Global Race," Opportunity Exchange 2000 is featuring a seminar led by one of the nation's leading authorities on partnerships and synergistic alliances, Edwin Rigsbee. Rigsbee, founder and president of Rigsbee Enterprises, Inc., a strategic marketing, management and development firm, will address some of the leading ways companies can realize great value by building what he calls "alliance relationships" with companies with mutual core values, including competitors.
Toyota supports the Hispanic community through various philanthropic programs, including a 10-year partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF). Toyota provides scholarships for college students through HSF and also serves as an active member of the organization's board of directors. Earlier this year, Toyota announced an additional $500,000 grant to HSF for further scholarship funding. Details for this new program are still being finalized, however, more information about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund can be obtained by visiting www.hsf.net.
Today, Toyota is making a $10,000 donation to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) for a summer internship program that provides Hispanic college students pursuing a career in business hands-on experience in various disciplines within the USHCC, including government relations, communications, marketing and accounting.
Toyota has steadily increased its local production and procurement since it began making automobiles in North America in 1984. With the annual capacity to produce more than 1.2 million vehicles, the company's overall spending from more than 500 North American suppliers has grown to more than $11 billion a year.
Toyota employs more than 31,000 people in North America and has manufacturing plants in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, California, Missouri and Canada. The company's current North American-built vehicles include the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Sequoia, Sienna, Solara, Tacoma and Tundra. For more information about Toyota's Supplier Diversity program and Opportunity Exchange 2000, visit www.toyota.com/mbe.
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