And he’s well-acquainted with those 21 on-site suppliers, which Toyota refers to as equal partners and a vital component in this ahead-of-the-industry endeavor.

Each of the 200,000 trucks produced annually will have up to 30,000 parts that are mostly made in surrounding buildings. Without on-site production, parts would travel up to 2,000 miles to San Antonio. A lot of things can happen to them during such a long haul. And those 18-wheelers produce emissions by the cloud-load – a key concern for Toyota, says Mr. Tajima.

“We really believe that the true meaning for our company’s existence is better quality, better performance, better reliability and being kinder to Earth, which means fuel efficiency and lower pollution, not only with the product but in the process of making it,” he says. “Otherwise, we’re just like everyone else.”

received more than 110,000 applications for 2,000 openings.
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“Not one genius can build a car. It needs to be a group of good-willed people who want to work together to make good things for the customer.”
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For one thing, [Toyota] put them on a line for a full day.
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Groups of four to six people were brought into a conference room with a toy truck broken down into parts. They were asked to put the truck together.

Then, for the next two hours, they were given the chance to refine their assembly process.
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“It was very interesting to see which people worked the best in a team environment.”

Those were the ones Toyota hired.