Toyota officially broke ground on June 11 on the expansion of the Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in Michigan. The ceremony at Toyota’s campus in York Township marks the first visible step toward its growing investment and employment in the state while strengthening its North American research and development operations.
Toyota is investing $126 million in the project, which includes construction of two new buildings in York Township. The landscape will add a new prototype facility for vehicle development and a supplier center. Toyota says the supplier center will allow the automaker to forge even stronger alliances with its supplier partners. This new facility will enable day-to-day collaboration between the purchasing group, engineering design team and supplier partners to better satisfy the needs of Toyota customers today and into the future.
The TTC expansion also enlarges Toyota’s powertrain development facility on its Ann Arbor Township campus. This element of the project will better position Toyota to develop engines and automatic transmissions for the North American designed and manufactured vehicles, the automaker said.
As part of the expansion, Toyota is relocating more than 300 team members to Michigan. The moves include direct procurement and supplier engineering development positions currently based in Erlanger, Kentucky, and vehicle development and powertrain functions that are presently in
California. These moves further Toyota’s commitment to drive more local decision-making and ultimately faster, more precise response to the needs of the marketplace.
During the event, Toyota team members who will be moving to Michigan stood at the construction site in the outline of where their future office building will sit. Tundra Chief Engineer Mike Sweers piloted the plow that moved earth for the official start of construction.
The event also featured a donation of three Tundra pickup trucks, one to each of the three different fire departments that serve Toyota’s two regional facilities: Ann Arbor Township, Saline and Milan. As Lentz presented truck keys to each fire chief, he expressed Toyota’s sincere appreciation for the fire fighters’ work in keeping Toyota associates safe, be it through routine inspections or the occasional emergency call.
All construction will be completed in late 2016.
