Strength and Safety

When you shipped 19,888,398 pieces to Subaru and 13,113,628 pieces to Toyota in 2015, have more than 1,200 employees, and operate a plant with more than a million square feet under roof, keeping it simple takes on a whole new meaning – and importance. Based on the success and growth TOA-USA as experienced since first coming to Mooresville in the year 2000, Owner Shinichi Iizuka and President Junichiro Kondo and their management team have orchestrated simplicity into a symphony.TOA-USA, LLC is a supplier of body structure and suspension components to the automotive industry. Those components are produced through three processes: Stamping, Welding, and Electro Deposition Coating. Sounds simple enough, but to produce the high quality parts to meet the defined specifications of the customers takes a tremendous number of qualified people and well-maintained machines, presses, and robots working cooperatively in harmony with each other.

To achieve that, company management is based on LEAN Manufacturing philosophies through Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). Continual improvement and refinement of work is achieved through the reduction and elimination of waste in materials, processes and even the number of steps between work stations, called cells in the facility. “If associates think they have a better process (called Kaizen),” said Vice President of Operations and Quality Bob Whyte, “we review that and may or may not implement. If it’s more efficient and does not adversely affect quality or safety, then it’s a good move.”