TOYOTA COMPLETES NEW ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS PLANT

Toyota City―Ceremonies were held today to mark the completion of TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION'S new Hirose electronic components plant in Toyota City. Work on the 48,000m² plant, which will produce electronic control equipment, actuators and sensors as well as conduct R&D and prototype manufacture of integrated circuits (IC), was initiated in November 1987.

The Hirose Plant will allow Toyota to introduce new leading-edge electronics technology in its products more quickly by integrating the research, development and production phases into a single, in-house system. This will prove increasingly important as the role of car electronics continues to expand in the years ahead. Currently, electronics are used in engine, transmission and suspension systems as well as an ever-widening range of in-vehicle applications, including video displays, audio systems and car telephones.

With completion of the Hirose Plant, Toyota now has a total of 12 domestic plants, the others being five vehicle assembly plants, five engine, parts and components plants, and one machine, die and mold plant.

The new electronic components plants will employ about 370 people at full operation. The Micro Electronic Development Department has been housed at the plant since last September, when partial construction was completed. They were joined by the Electrical and Electronics Production Engineering Department in January of this year. Both departments are operating smoothly.