First Steel Beam Marks Official Beginning of Construction of Toyota's Woodstock....

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First Steel Beam Marks Official Beginning of Construction of Toyota's Woodstock Auto Assembly Plant

09/22/2006
New plant to employ 2,000 employees; RAV4 production begins in 2008

September 21, 2006 – Woodstock, Ontario - Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) celebrated the official start of construction of its new Woodstock assembly plant today. The first steel girder was placed with the help of Toyota Motor Corporation Executive Vice President Akio Toyoda. The new plant, which will employ 2,000, represents an investment of approximately $1.1 billion CAD and will be Toyota's second Canadian assembly plant. It is the first greenfield automotive assembly facility in Canada in almost 20 years.

The new plant, to be managed by TMMC, will open in 2008 and will have the capacity to build 150,000 RAV4 units annually. TMMC builds the Toyota Corolla and Matrix and the Lexus RX350 in nearby Cambridge, where it employs 4,500 team members, and has invested $3.2 billion CAD.

Mr. Toyoda said the Woodstock investment was a strong demonstration of the company's confidence in its Canadian operations. "With the placement of this steel today, we reconfirm our faith in our Team Members and our community. We look forward to a strong future in Canada, and I look forward to returning to Woodstock and renewing many friendships when the plant is operational."

TMMC President Ray Tanguay commented that Toyota was experiencing strong growth in Canada and North America. "This is an exciting time for TMMC. We are celebrating 20 years of vehicle manufacturing excellence in Canada, and now the beginning of a new milestone in Woodstock." He went on to observe, "This new facility strengthens Canada's automotive industry as a whole and will provide substantial benefits to existing Team Members, new Team Members, suppliers, and the communities where we do business."

TMMC has been manufacturing vehicles in Cambridge since November 1988. Original capacity was 50,000 units annually. By 2006, production had climbed to over 305,000 units.