Tacoma/Tundra Plant Tour

Today I finally went on the Toyota Plant tour here in San Antonio. I did some searching on TW and nobody has really posted their comments on it. Anyway it was a great experience for both young and old & men and women. Here are a few of my observations and facts I picked up.

- Tacoma are 70% made in the San Antonio plant. The bed/deck comes already painted from Baja Mexico and the engine comes from Japan, and then it is put together in Texas.
- Tacomas & Tundras are randomly in the same line after the body meets the frame. Couple of Tundras, then a couple of Tacoma, then a Tundra, etc all in the same assembly line. All random colors, body styles, etc.
- The entire plant is immaculate. The floors are clean enough to eat off of. There isnt a scratch or mark on any corner. Unbelievable attention to safety and signage.
- All the employees honestly look happy. Pretty much all smile and wave. The ones walking to and fro walked with pride and content look on their face. For the most part they were young, clean cut and and in shape. I didnt see any lowlife trouble maker types that you usually find in a factory(but I am sure there were a few). They must do a very good job of weeding out the trash before they get in. And I will say, I saw a surprising number of cute girls working there. I did not see a single idle person, everyone moved with with a purpose. (San Antonio is infamous for lazy people sitting around eatting breakfast tacos on the job!)
- They said roughly 75% of the 2900 onsite employees are actual Toyota employees, there are some supplier companies/employees that actually work along side in the plant that make up the rest.
- They really focus on zero impact on the environment and recycle every possible thing.
- I was disappointed to find out, they do not have segregated parking lots like GM. There were no "Toyota Only" parking lots in the front. Nor was there "Tacoma/Tundra Parking Only" on the front row of the lot. Come on Toyota, where is your company pride!?!?!
- No camera or phones were allowed on the tour.....so no pics.
- If anyone is interested, you do need to make an online appointment, like a flight reservation and there is no charge.
http://www.toyotatexas.com/tour/Tours/TourRes.aspx

It all seemed extremely well organized and well run operation. Again these were just my personal observations from the tour, I am sure some others or possibly employees might chime in.

 

Sweet, I wonder if the baja plant is like this and if its assembled in Baja, Mexico I wonder if the 4.0L engine is also made in Japan. I would really like to go on one of those tours but its to far from here

 

In 2010, I drove by the plant where my Tacoma was made and posted photos of it (on the free road between Tijuana and Tecate): http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2n...toyota-de-baja-california-tacoma-factory.html

 

Nice to know. Thanks!

 

I toured the Harley Davidson plant in York PA a few years back...

same thing...clean as a wistle and no slackers anywhere. also, a lot of women working on the line. the paint shop was most impressive.

however, the place was a sea of tattoos.

 

Maybe when I get to San Antone next year I can check it out. I enjoy seeing how things are made.

 

To bad you didnt get a tour of the place that would of been awesome.

 

here's a cool addition to the thread...

you can buy a new Corvette, check the factory tour box...and go and watch your Vette being built. you can even be the 1st to start it at the end of the line...
(I've seen pics of the assembly guys allowing the new owner to wrench on the new Vette a little as well) serious.

then it's across the street for a VIP museum delivery at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.

I think it's about a $700 option. prety cool for the hard core Vette nuts.

 

Right, but at the time we were just heading home after a great Baja off road adventure... not sure if they have anything for the public to see available there. I have been by it again since, but I usually don't use that highway in my Baja trips.

 

The Paint and Body stamping areas were the only 2 places off limits, but they showed videos.
- Body stamping - apparently there is so much force used, the ground shakes and people feel vibrations in their body, so it is a hazzard. All scrapes from the stamping are melted down and recycled by the supplier.

- Paint - ultra-clean room. To the point where workers can not ever use certain types of soap & other hygiene products. The all have to go through a special detector everyday and if they fail, they have to shower again onsite. Something to do with those types of particles get in the air and prevent the paint from sticking to the metal. They use a special water based paint.

No onsite vehicle pickup available in San Antonio. I asked when I ordered my Tacoma. Something to do with the inventory system, they can not pull anything off the order it came off the assembly line. Everything is loaded onto a train car to Houston then they are distributed. So yes, I had to pay $800 destination fee for them to ship it to Houston and then trailer it back to SA the next day.

 

You can do this with some BMWs, too, from what I remember. Tour the factory, take delivery there, drive through Europe, then see it get loaded on a boat...

 

I've toured the BMW plant in Germany and I would say it was on par with your experience in San Antonio. Except in Germany they allow you to order a car (or at least they use to) at the factory price (what ever that means). I think it would really be great if Toyota would allow people to purchase one of their vehicles at the end of the day. Even Volvo does this in Sweden. It was all cash and carry in Germany so no credit of any kind. Also once you sign the paper it's being built as yours. That would be great to watch your car being built. I do remember it was a very educational process as well.

 

^Cool. The difference, of course, is that BMW's margins are near 30% while Toyota's are near 10%, so BMW can afford to be more flexible.

Did you see if the frames are stamped on-site or delivered? I heard they were made at a Hino plant (real trucks ) then shipped to the assembly plant, at least during the Fremont days.

 

I didnt see and they didnt say, so I cant answer 100%. But they said, and I do know, there is another entire city of suppier factories next to the plant. So there is no telling what came from there. I have seen loads of frames on rail cars around town, so there is a good chance they are shipped in.

 

Does anyone know how long it takes to build a truck... from the initial order to the first gas fill and engine start-up?

 

I work for Toyota, well actually I work for Toyota auto body Japan ( tabj). I work in the stamping and blanking dept , building parts for the corrolla. We blank out the hood fenders and luggage. And stamp all the body parts and send them to the Toyota production line. The building is always clean we have to clean at the end of every shift. And everyone has pride in there work. And the hiring process is very arduous and the free loaders are weeded out usually before they ever step foot in the plant, or within 2 weeks at most. I always wished we built parts for the Tacoma

 

Do you work in the States or in Japan?

 

Can't say about Toyota but when I visited the BMW factory in Munich I was told it takes about 16 hours to build a BMW. Not sure if Toyota takes that long because they're trucks are broke down to beat the chicken tax for import so they would not do a full assembly as most of us think of it.

 

Volvo too. Knew a couple that flew up to Sweden to pick up their new Volvo SUV from the plant. We were living in Germany at the time so they didn't need to load it onto a boat....just drove it back to Germany.

 

I thought te v6 was built in Alabama? And the 2.7 in Japan? The stickers of the 4cyl say 20% Japan, with engine and trans coming from Japan, the v6 trucks say 15% Japan and engine and trans built in USA. I have pics I the window stickers to prove it.

4cyl sticker