Automotive special report - Made in the USA - Uprooting the Toyota Production System and transplanting it to Kentucky in the United States has proved to be a great success for Toyota

The Toyota plant at Georgetown, Kentucky is the Japanese manufacturer´s flagship facility in the United States. The facility encompasses stamping, die manufacture, plastic moulding and engine and axle machining and finishing plants in addition to the usual bodyshop, paintshop and two car assembly lines. The president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) points out that the success of lean manufacturing in Toyota is not so much for the Toyota Production System tools such as andon and kaizen, but on the DNA of TPS: the culture, how people think. TPS is grounded on how people are trained and treat each other, the deep roots of problem solving, and truly understanding the concept at the heart of TPS - that the customer is always first. Kaizen approved TPS is applied in TMMK the management of its complex supply chain. The article also discusses TMMK-style product development, production tracking, assembly automation, and the production of the hybrid car