Toyota Boshoku America Announces Contract with Minority Supplier to Coordinate Transportation and Logistics

Partnership is Largest in History for Minority Supplier

ERLANGER, Ky., March 2 -- Toyota Boshoku America (TBA), a Tier 1 automotive interior supplier, announced today a $100 million partnership over three years with Walker International Transportation, a minority-owned international logistics company. Walker International will manage TBA's in-bound supply chain and transportation logistics.

"Toyota Boshoku America is a new client for Walker International Transportation and the largest initiative in the history of our organization," said Emmett Walker, CEO for Walker International. "TBA's commitment to minority businesses is remarkable and we are honored to be working as their in-bound supply chain and transportation management services provider."

"In our business, we must provide high quality products at the lowest cost for our customers, while delivering them just in time," said TBA's Vice President of Purchasing, Steve Binkowski. "Walker International has a proven track record in transportation logistics and on-time delivery, which makes our partnership even stronger and enhances the long-term success for both companies."

Walker International will focus its engineering efforts on optimizing TBA's North American transportation network for its in-bound supplier parts. Through these efforts, TBA will gain opportunities to reduce network miles, increase cube utilization, and reduce transit times and logistics costs to improve efficiency. In addition, Walker will assist with reducing inventory, sourcing and transportation costs as well as future planning, supporting new launches and packaging. Currently, the contract is in effect and all TBA facilities are onboard.

"This is an excellent opportunity to take best practices in network and route optimization, and carrier management, and apply them to achieve Toyota Boshoku America's supply chain transformation objectives," said George Wilkinson, President of Walker International Transportation.

Walker International Transportation, a certified minority business enterprise (MBE) and veteran-owned company, was established in 1988 by Emmett Walker. The privately held company is headquartered in Valley Stream, N.Y. and employs 250 people. Walker International is a full service logistics provider which includes international and domestic freight forwarding, logistics optimization centers, and supply chain management solutions.

About Toyota Boshoku America, Inc.

Toyota Boshoku Corporation is based in Kariya City, Japan, with revenues near $12.3 billion and 88 operations in more than 20 countries. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Toyota Boshoku America (TBA), and its affiliates employ almost 7,000 team members in 23 locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Argentina. TBA is a premier manufacturer of automotive interior systems which include seats, door trims, headliners and substrates, carpets, fabrics and straps in addition to air and oil filters for a variety of customers such as Toyota Motor Corporation and General Motors. For more information, visit www.toyota-boshoku.co.jp/en/.