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INDUSTRY- November 2002 by Jennifer E. Kustes
When Convis became the first American president of the plant in Georgetown, Ky., he joined a long line of leaders who have consistently upheld Toyota’s commitment to its employees, the community, and its customers for 14 years. The Georgetown plant, known as TMMK, manufactures the Camry four-door sedan, the Avalon sedan, and the Sienna minivan in its assembly plant, as well as four-cylinder and V6 engines, axles, steering components, and many other parts in its powertrain plant. In December 1985, when the 1,300-acre plant site near Georgetown was announced, Toyota Motor Corporation committed to invest $800 million to build and operate an assembly plant to produce 200,000 vehicles annually with a work force of 3,000 and an annual payroll of $90 million. However, since the plant’s opening in 1988, it has expanded to an investment of $5.3 billion, a work force of more than 7,000, the capacity to produce 500,000 vehicles annually, and an annual payroll of $515 million. The first in the line of leaders who have been integral to the plant’s success was Fujio Cho, the TMMK plant’s first manager and now Toyota CEO. According to Convis, Cho was raised in the hands-on Toyota environment and came with a solid belief in the Toyota Production System (TPS). Cho brought the system from Japan to the TMMK plant without any variation in method. “This is a real strength of Toyota, that the leaders have consistent knowledge of TPS, and that consistency gets passed down to guys like me,” Convis said.
“It takes a brilliant person to do that in a foreign country,” Convis said. The philosophy that Cho carried to TMMK originated in Japan with Sakichi Toyoda, founder of the Toyota Group. He invented a loom in 1902 that would stop automatically if a thread snapped. His invention opened the way for automatic loomworks where a single operator could handle dozens of looms. It also reduced defects and raised yields, since a loom would not go on producing imperfect fabric and using thread after a problem occurred. This principle of designing equipment to stop automatically and call attention to problems immediately is crucial to TPS. Sakichi Toyoda’s son, Kiichiro, was also involved in the loom business and made improvements in the existing inventions. When the Toyota Group set up an automobile manufacturing operation in the 1930s, Kiichiro headed the venture. He traveled to the United States to study Henry Ford’s system and returned to Japan determined to adapt the system to the small production volumes of the Japanese market. His solution was to provide the processes in the assembly sequence with only the kinds and quantities of items they needed and only when they needed them. Production and transport took place simultaneously throughout the production sequence. Kiichiro thus laid the groundwork for the “Just-In-Time” system used at Toyota today, and he gets credit for coining the term. The man who did the most to structure TPS is Taiichi Ohno. He was in charge of a machining shop and came to the United States in the late 1940s to visit automobile plants. While visiting, he also noticed and admired the way the supermarkets supplied customers with the items they wanted and in the quantities they needed. He applied that idea to TPS and formed a system where each production line presented its output for the following line to choose from. The following line would choose only the items it needed, then the preceding line would produce replacements for only those items.
The Toyota way is also based on “kaizen,” or continuous improvement. The primary objective is to identify and eliminate waste in all areas. Kaizen also strives to ensure quality and safety. Its key elements emphasize making a task easier to perform, re-engineering processes to accommodate the physical demands on team members, increasing the efficiency of the work process, maintaining a safe work environment and constantly improving the product quality. From Toyota’s development stages to manufacturing a product, it is committed to superior quality. The cornerstone of the quality control system is the role of team members in the production process. Toyota involves its team members by encouraging an active role in quality control, utilizing employee ideas and opinions in production processes, and practicing kaizen. Toyota designs quality into its automobiles in the planning stages. Technical advances such as computer-aided design, or CAD, have helped designers create and modify specifications faster, while improving design quality. CAD allows designers to see their ideas take shape on a display monitor. Quality control during production ensures that the correct materials and parts are fitted with precision and accuracy. Each team member is an inspector for his or her own work and that of co-workers. Quality audits include testing the exhaust system, maintaining mass production quality control levels, identifying improvements for quality assurance methods and providing detailed vehicle evaluations. After the vehicles are assembled, they are started and driven to vehicle performance, where every aspect is put through a demanding set of tests and inspections. About 150 to 175 cars are chosen randomly each day and sent to a test track for a check of road performance and customer satisfaction drive tests. In its 14 years in operation, TMMK has celebrated many milestones. Since its first car ceremony in May 1988, it has produced more than four million cars. The plant produced its one millionth Camry by 1993. In September 1994, Avalon production began, and in August 1997, Sienna production began. The powertrain plant produced its three-millionth engine by September 2000. In December 2000, the Toyota Camry was named the best-selling car in the U.S. for the fourth year in a row. TMMK has won eight awards from J. D. Power and Associates, four of which were Gold Plant Quality Awards. The powertrain plant won the 1995 J. D. Power Engine Plant Quality Award. TMMK’s state and local awards include the Company of the Year Award, Kentucky’s Leading Exporter Award, and the Corporate Leadership Award. It has also been recognized for its strong philanthropy program. In looking back at the plant and its many achievements, Convis said the most significant one is its emphasis on quality. “When you combine volume with quality, keeping up volume as we’ve kept up quality is the best achievement,” he said.
TMMK contributes to the local community and the state through both monetary contributions and personal involvement of its team members. After the announcement of the plant site, Toyota presented $1 million to assist the citizens of Scott County. Toyota also requested that the plant site become part of the city of Georgetown, which has almost doubled the city’s budget. Several upper management employees serve on the boards of local and state organizations. TMMK employees are major contributors to United Way of the Bluegrass, and they participate in holiday programs to help disadvantaged families. Over 96 percent of TMMK’s team members come from 116 of Kentucky’s 120 counties, and minority hiring is above the national average. TMMK purchases raw materials, parts and components from over 70 companies in the state. The company is also paying more than $30 million to the Scott County school system over a 20-year period in lieu of property tax payments. The payments enabled the school system to build a new high school, which opened in 1996. Toyota commits to education by providing a full scholarship to a Scott County High School student to attend Georgetown College each year. Toyota also donates $57,600 each year to the Kentucky Independent College Fund to provide scholarships to each of Kentucky’s 10 member independent colleges. Toyota has also made contributions to UK to increase the collections in the UK library system and to help fund the W. T. Young Library. Convis said the fact that he is the first American president at TMMK represents a lot of trust from Toyota in someone they have known over the years. Toyota wants to develop leaders in all the countries in which they do business, so Convis is just one example. He said Americans are earning the confidence as they embrace Toyota’s philosophies. Convis brings with him a 36-year career in automotive manufacturing, including 16 years at the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. plant in California. There, he played a key role in developing a General Motors/Toyota joint venture and introducing TPS to the plant. He joined TMMK as executive vice president in May of 2000, and was named president in April 2001. One of Convis’ goals is to make sure each person feels safe coming to work and that their quality of life and pride in achievement remain strong. He also wants to implement TPS day by day and strive for kaizen. “My goal is to have a company that is run so well that employees can see their kids and grandkids having a job here,” he said. “Toyota is
a wonderful match for Kentucky. The Georgetown plant is a positive impact
for all of Kentucky, and the people of Kentucky have been equally supportive,
and we appreciate that,” Convis said. Jennifer E. Kustes is
a staff writer for The Lane Report. Click here to see a list of Kentucky Motor Vehicle-Related Facilities
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“The
person might change, but the philosophy remains the same,” said
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky President Gary Convis. 
Convis
credits Cho as TMMK’s most notable leader. Cho had to overcome
many barriers, including language. He also came into a new operation
where people did not have knowledge of the automotive industry, and
he set the tone of what was expected for quality and efficiency. 
“TPS
is the foundation of the company that has allowed us to be successful,”
Convis said. TPS continues today to be supported by two main principles:
“Just-In-Time” production and “Jidoka.” The Just-In-Time
philosophy enhances efficiency and allows problems to be solved quickly
if a machine goes down and stops the line. Jidoka assures built-in quality
for Toyota’s automobiles. If a defect arises, the production line
is stopped either manually or automatically, and improvements can be
made at that point. The Jidoka philosophy shows faith in the team member
as a thinker and allows all team members the right to stop the line
on which they are working.
Convis
said Toyota’s goal is to help improve the quality of life for its
customers, making products where they are bought and contributing to
the local society through giving, philanthropy, education and environmental
leadership. “We’re not just building more cars. We’re
constantly striving for cleaner ways to manufacture them,” he said.