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First Engine Celebration Held at New West Virginia Toyota Plant

11 December 1998

First Engine Celebration Held at New West Virginia Toyota Plant

    BUFFALO, W.Va., Dec. 11 -- Less than three years after
announcing the building of a new Toyota engine plant in Buffalo, WV, today a
ceremony was held commemorating production of the first four-cylinder engine
built at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, Inc. (TMMWV).
    Dr. Shoichiro Toyoda, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Toyota Motor
Corporation (TMC), Akira Takahashi, Executive Vice President of TMC, Senator
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood, and other
officials joined TMMWV President Tomoya Toriumi in a ceremonial tightening of
bolts on the first engine produced by TMMWV's team members.
    The $900 million plant will employ some 800 employees when in full
production.  Initially, TMMWV will produce 300,000 four-cylinder engines
annually.  The engines will be used in Toyota Corollas manufactured in
California and Canada.
    "Production of the first engine is a symbol of the team spirit
demonstrated by the State of West Virginia, the Putnam County Community and
TMMWV team members," said Dr. Toyoda.  "While I know this plant is important
to all of you here, it is also a vital part of Toyota's global efforts.  Our
global business plan involves increasing local investment in the countries
where Toyota sells cars.  The engines built here will power Toyota's best
selling products in North America."
    Referring to the 1996 TMMWV groundbreaking where Toyota officials helped
local school children plant maple trees to symbolize Toyota's new roots in
West Virginia, Mr. Toriumi noted, "Due to the hard work of everyone in the
plant and the tremendous support of Putnam County residents and all West
Virginians, the TMMWV trees have begun to bear fruit."
    Two expansion announcements for the Buffalo facility were made earlier
this year.  Construction already has begun on a V-6 engine plant that will
produce 200,000 engines a year for models built at Georgetown, KY and
Cambridge, Ontario.  Production will begin in early 2000.  The two engine
plants will produce half the engines Toyota plans to make in North America.
    In addition, a transmission facility will make 360,000 automatic
transmissions annually for North American-built Camrys.  The transmission has
been the final high-dollar component still imported for Toyota's number-one
selling car.  Construction on the transmission plant will begin next year with
production slated to begin in 2001.
    TMMWV is one of eight Toyota plants located in North America.  Toyota now
has capacity to build more than one million cars and trucks, as well as a
million engines, in the U.S. and Canada and employs 20,000 Americans at its
manufacturing facilities.  Some 190 team members have been hired to date for
engine production at the Buffalo plant.