(Itawamba County, Mississippi) December 3, 2010 – Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour joined Masaki Katsuragi, the Chairman and CEO of Toyota Boshoku America (TBA), and Akira Furusawa, of Toyota Boshoku Japan, today at the Toyota Boshoku Mississippi facility in Itawamba County, Mississippi to announce the company’s plans to move forward with the facility and hiring of team members.
“I am delighted to join Toyota Boshoku America in announcing that plans for production and hiring have begun at Toyota Boshoku Mississippi,” said Governor Haley Barbour. “When Toyota was forced to delay production in Blue Springs as a result of the weakened economy, its suppliers, including TBA, delayed the start of their operations as a result. I commend company officials for continuing to honor their commitment to our state and our workforce and am pleased that TBMS is pressing forward and will begin producing parts for one of America’s best-selling vehicles by the end of next year.”
“The last three years were unprecedented. We faced a global recession that caused significant struggles for the automotive industry,” said Masaki Katsuragi, CEO of Toyota Boshoku America. “Today, we are ready to move forward and get to work in Mississippi. We appreciate the leadership of Governor Barbour and the patience of the community in Itawamba County. We have begun and will continue to fulfill our promise to invest in the community and create new jobs in the region.”
Toyota Boshoku was recently awarded the seat contract for the 2012 Toyota Corolla, to be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi (TMMMS) in Blue Springs, Mississippi. The start of production of seats, door panels and sun visors at Toyota Boshoku Mississippi (TBMS) will begin in the second half of 2011.
The 404,000 square foot structure of the TBMS facility is complete. Much of the equipment needed to begin production has been ordered and will be installed in December. Hiring and training has begun for key management positions. More than sixty team members will be hired by the end of 2010 and up to 250 team members will be in place for the start of production in the fall of 2011. TBMS represents an approximately 46 million dollars investment by TBA.
Two key leadership positions have been filled. Jerry Kawasaki has been named president of TBMS and Brian Malinao was selected as senior general manager. Both are residing in Mississippi and hard at work on getting TBMS ready for production.
The Toyota Boshoku Group seeks to “actively meet the needs of society by providing products that possess the quality and price demanded by customers throughout the world, when the products are needed, and where they are needed” as a single global company. Toyota Boshoku is an automobile interior systems supplier determined to create a safer and more comfortable interior space for automobiles.
About Toyota Boshoku America, Inc.
Toyota Boshoku Corporation is based in Kariya City, Japan, with more than 80 operations in 22 countries. It’s wholly owned subsidiary, Toyota Boshoku America (TBA), and its affiliates employ about 6,000 team members in 20 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.