SAN ANTONIO, Texas (August 6, 2010) - Production of the Tacoma
pickup truck began last month but was marked today with a ceremony at
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas, Inc. (TMMTX). The $100 million
investment boosts total investment to $1.4 billion.
Texas Governor Rick Perry joined San Antonio community leaders,
team members, suppliers as well as Toyota officials including Toyota
Motor Corporation Executive Vice President Atsushi Niimi.
Tacoma's production move to TMMTX was announced a year ago and
adds 1,000 jobs. Today, over 2,800 team members are employed at TMMTX
and the plant is fully positioned to ramp up Toyota's pickup truck
production for the American market.
"The San Antonio plant has shown a great deal of resilience during
the recession and is fully prepared to ramp-up Tacoma production," said
Chris Nielsen, TMMTX president. "By building Tacoma in Texas, we are
able to consolidate pickup truck production in the United States under
one roof, allowing us to fully utilize the plant's capacity."
During the economic downturn, TMMTX was one of several Toyota
plants impacted by poor sales. However, TMMTX retained its workforce
instead of laying off, in order to strengthen team members' skills and
improve plant processes.
