Toyota Executive Goes Inside the Automobile Industry
Advanced manufacturing was among the topics in the September-October 2005 edition of BizVoice®. One of the entities featured was the Purdue Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM), which conducted the Anderson-Muncie Regional Manufacturing Summit on February 20. (Anderson will be highlighted in the Community Focus section of the May-June issue).
It was the third regional summit for CAM, in addition to four statewide advanced manufacturing forums held annually on the West Lafayette campus. Attendees at the Flagship Enterprise Center in Anderson learned about regional collaborations and manufacturing resources available to area companies.
The featured speaker was Dennis Cuneo, senior vice president for Toyota Motor North America. He commented, “We often hear about the negative side of globalization. But there is another, positive side.” He added that while the impacts of globalization have been “immediate and direct,” the concept of change has always been a part of the automobile business.
According to Cuneo:
In 2005, Toyota manufactured 365,000 vehicles in Indiana (the most of any manufacturer in the state) and purchased $2 billion in parts and components from Indiana suppliers.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the Big 3 (General Motors, Ford and Chrysler) produced more than 90% of all the vehicles in the United States. Today, one has to look at the Big 6 – Toyota, Nissan and Honda in addition to GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler. Sixty-two percent of the vehicles produced in Indiana in 2005 came from the Toyota and Subaru facilities.
When Toyota first shipped vehicles to the United States in 1957, only 300 were sold. When Cuneo joined the company in 1984, 800,000 units were sold (and none built) in the U.S. In 2005, 1.6 million vehicles were built in this country.
The company has 32,000 direct employees in the U.S., with 400,000 indirect jobs. The economic impact of the Princeton, Indiana plant is estimated at 31,000 indirect jobs and $500 million in employee compensation. Indiana is the second largest base, trailing only Kentucky, for Toyota’s North American operations.
In the alternative fuels arena, the company has investments in diesel, hydrogen and fuel cell technology. But, as it has done for the last decade, its primary emphasis will remain on hybrids.
Cuneo said Toyota does not underestimate its American counterparts. He pointed out that as recently as the late 1990s, Ford’s profits were double those of Toyota. GM, he added, has improved its quality but must continue to focus on the revenue side of the equation.
For Indiana to realize success in the changing auto industry, attitude is one key component, he concluded. “Some look at globalization and see nothing but obstacles. Others see it as a stepping stone. The leaders who view it as stepping stones instead of obstacles” will realize success.
“I wouldn’t count GM out. Not long ago they were making more money than we were and hitting on the right markets (primarily SUVs). At Toyota, we have a high degree of respect for GM.”
