The factory employs numerous new manufacturing technologies for low-volume output of niche vehicles, without losing money. It relies on a rare mix of high-skilled human labor and high-tech automation.
“We have a mission to make excellent specialized vehicles,” Toyoda said at the ceremony, where he drove a new hot rod Yaris through a particleboard wall in a stunt to the strains of Deep Purple’s “Highway Star” performed by an employee rock band.
Key is the use of work cells, instead of a conveyor-driven line. The cells can be increased or decreased as demand fluctuates. Veteran workers assigned to each cell handle multiple processes in quick succession more efficiently than on a mass-volume line.
Cars are shuffled between stations by workers pulling them on dollies or by automated guided vehicles.
Production focuses on delivering ultra-rigid bodies with exacting precision — an extra 11 meters (36 feet) of glue is added to stiffen the body, while an additional 250 spot welds are made by hand. Some 314 workers swarm the pint-size factory.
Toyota scouted its best assembly line workers from other plants for the job. These so-called takumi master craftspeople lend an extra touch of quality and efficiency.
The GR Yaris is a 268-hp subcompact developed from Gazoo Racing’s entry in the World Rally Championship series. It will be sold in Japan, Australia and certain European nations and has 7,000 preorders. But the GR Yaris was deemed too small for the U.S. market.
