SAN ANTONIO—Toyota Motor Co.’s assembly plant here recently opened a dedicated workspace for employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The ToyotAbility Production Center (TPC) specializes in producing subcomponents used in Sequoia sport utility vehicles and Tundra pickup trucks.
ToyotAbility’s mission is to support individuals and groups across a broad spectrum of visible, invisible, temporary and permanent disabilities within and beyond the walls of Toyota.
“The goal of the ToyotAbility Production Center is simple: provide meaningful job opportunities and truly embrace our future as Toyota makes the transformation to a mobility company–dedicated to providing mobility for all,” says Rob Franklin, Toyota Texas general manager of body operations and ToyotAbility executive sponsor.
“We are proud to celebrate opening of the ToyotAbility Production Center as a beacon within [our facility] that embraces and employs individuals with different abilities,” adds Susann Kazunas, president of Toyota Texas. “The work our employees do in the TPC every day is essential to assembling Tundras and Sequoias, and I am grateful they are a part of Team Texas.”
The ToyotAbility Business Partnering Group (BPG) was the driving force behind the TPC, a project more than five years in the making. The BPGs are volunteer, employee-driven organizations that work to support business objectives, as well as strengthen the collection of innovative ideas and voices that represent Toyota.
