$170 Million Investment Slated for Toyota Motor Manufacturing

The Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi, just north of Tupelo, seems futuristic enough as robotic machinery puts together parts on the assembly line and automatic guided vehicles propel themselves down the aisles. The exclusively-designed OTTO 1500 self-driving vehicle sequentially loads and delivers tires to locations within the facility while the droid-like nature of those 'AGVs' creates a science-fiction-type indoor landscape. But all of that doesn't mean the company has stopped striving to reach the pinnacle of advanced technology or that it has lost the crucial element of human touch.

And that's especially true with Sean Suggs in charge.

After beginning his career as a young team leader, Suggs has since risen to become the recently-appointed president of Toyota Manufacturing in Mississippi and is dedicated to ensuring that quality and safety standards are maintained along with the customer service tenets on which the company stands. Extremely personable and well-liked by his employees, Suggs is leading an enthusiastic team of capable workers into a brighter future as hundreds from the community gathered on Thursday for an important investment announcement that will not only have major implications for the local plant itself, but will also make a significant impact on economic development statewide.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant made an appearance on site as the company stated it would invest $170 million to build the all-new 12th generation Corolla using Toyota New Global Architecture (also referred to as TNGA). During a 10-year partnership with the state, and in just six short years of production, the Mississippi plant has proudly produced the 1 millionth Corolla, Toyota's highest volume selling vehicle in the world.

For more than a decade, Toyota has been a valued corporate partner to Blue Springs and the state of Mississippi, said Bryant in a statement. Toyota's commitment to building a sense of community is illustrated by the company's continued investment in its operations and philanthropic efforts throughout the region.

Toyota's investment in the Mississippi facility has been more than $1 billion since 2007 and supports Toyota's commitment to invest $10 billion in its U.S. facilities over the next five years. This brings the company to $4.27 billion of new investment in the United States since 2017 and $25 billion over the past 60 years.

The TNGA investment plan provides a new approach to the way Toyota designs, engineers, and produces its vehicles and will include a complete replacement of the current production lines. The plan will shorten the development cycle thereby allowing the facility to more efficiently produce advanced vehicles with improved performance such as more responsive handling and an even more comfortable feel while driving.

Enabling the assembly plant to stay competitive globally, the implementation of TNGA, along with a general increase in production, will create 400 new jobs for the area over the next 12 months. And since workforce development is the fuel that enables Toyota to be successful, the brand will continue growing their own by providing enhanced workforce development training at its new visitor and training center. The 15,000-square-foot facility is designed by local architecture firm JBHM to comfortably accommodate up to 120 people and house state-of-the-art audio-visual technology as well.

The plant's growing need to welcome public visitors also necessitates the construction of a nearly 5,000-square-foot public gallery scheduled to open in November 2019. The space will feature interactive exhibits, the Toyota Production System, and environmental elements while highlighting the success story of the region.

Toyota has been a vital part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. and North America for more than 60 years and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through their noteworthy Toyota and Lexus brands. Operating though 14 manufacturing plants and directly employing more than 47,000 people, Toyota has contributed to the world-class design, engineering, and assembly of more than 36 million cars and trucks in North America where about 87 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 16 years are still on the road today.

Sean Suggs summarizes the commitment to excellence at TMMMS by saying, I truly believe it's being brilliant at the basics. And you may say, 'What about all the innovation and all the technology and all the stuff that's going on?' But at the end of the day, we have to be brilliant at the Toyota production system because it's who we are. It's our foundation; it's our lifeblood. So when we bring new hires in or people come in new to our company, we have to teach them that and they have to get that right because it separates us from everybody else. So if we can get the qualified team members, you heard us talk a lot about pipeline because that's going to be our lifeblood for long-term stability. But once we get them in, it's being brilliant at the basics with the Toyota production system.

See additional information below or visit:
Toyota