Employment and investment by on-site suppliers at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas (TMMTX) will exceed earlier projections, according to the automaker.
TMMTX and its on-site suppliers together will employ about 4,100 when Tundra pickup truck production begins late next year.
The suppliers expect to employ 2,100, about 600 more than estimated last December. They will invest approximately $US300 million, twice as much as was first reported.
A portion of the increase is due to the addition of three new suppliers, taking the number of on-site companies to 21.
The three new suppliers include Kautex (fuel tank), MetoKote (E-coater), and Tokai Rika (functional parts).
TMMTX will employ 2,000. The $850 million plant will have the capacity to build 200,000 vehicles annually.
Bexar County and the City of San Antonio teamed up to provide incentives for the suppliers to locate in the area. “There was and continues to be intense competition for Toyota’s suppliers, and the county feels very strongly that our return on investment will be much greater than expected,” said a county spokesman.
Toyota will have the annual capacity to build 1.81 million cars and trucks, 1.44 million engines, and 600,000 automatic transmissions in North America by 2008.
