In the heart of Texas, the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas (TMMTX) plant in San Antonio stands as a testament to modern automotive manufacturing. Truck Camper Magazine was granted exclusive access to this impressive facility, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the intricate processes that bring Toyota Tacomas and Tundras to life. This in-depth tour revealed a world of advanced robotics, dedicated teamwork, and a relentless pursuit of quality, showcasing why TMMTX is a cornerstone of Toyota’s global production network.
Initially met with a denial due to timing and the rarity of unrestricted photography access, our persistence paid off in the spring of 2017. Securing a special camera pass – specifically for a Nikon DSLR, as camera phones are not permitted – and adhering to a strict safety dress code (no skirts, shorts, or heels over one inch – a departure from typical Truck Camper Magazine attire!), we were finally cleared for an immersive experience.
Lone Star Welcome
Parked Toyota Visitors Center
Image: The Toyota TMMTX Visitor Center parking area, providing a welcoming first impression for guests and highlighting the scale of the manufacturing complex.
Arriving at 1 Lone Star Pass, the sheer scale of the 2,000-acre Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas complex became immediately apparent. We parked near the visitor center and were greeted by Melissa Sparks from Toyota Motor North America’s External Media Affairs team. After receiving a laminated, signed camera security pass – a coveted item granting unrestricted photo access – we were ushered into a 2017 Toyota Tundra, one of the many “scrap” or test vehicles used within the facility, lacking VIN numbers and dedicated to internal transport.
Toyota TMMTX Visitors Center
Image: The modern and welcoming Toyota TMMTX Visitor Center, designed to host guests and provide information about the plant’s operations and history.
Our drive through the campus revealed a remarkable commitment to employee well-being, exemplified by the Toyota Family Health Center. This on-site medical facility offers primary care, optical, dental, physical therapy, and pharmacy services to Toyota employees and their families, all for a nominal $5 co-pay. This forward-thinking approach to healthcare underscores Toyota’s dedication to its workforce.
Efficient Logistics and On-Site Suppliers
Our tour continued to the shipping yard, a bustling hub where newly manufactured Tacomas and Tundras are prepared for distribution across the United States and Canada. An impressive 90% of vehicles leave the plant by rail, loaded onto towering two-story rail cars, showcasing the efficiency of Toyota’s logistics network.
As we approached the main assembly building, we passed numerous on-site suppliers. The TMMTX plant pioneered the concept of co-locating suppliers within the same grounds as the assembly plant.
Toyota TMMTX On Site Supplier List
Image: A list of Toyota TMMTX on-site suppliers, demonstrating the integrated manufacturing ecosystem and close partnerships within the plant.
These suppliers produce a wide array of components, from door glass and seats to headliners, steering wheels, and even stamped parts and fuel tanks. This integration streamlines the supply chain, reduces shipping costs, enhances manufacturing efficiency, and fosters stronger collaboration between Toyota and its partners.
The vastness of the Toyota campus was further emphasized by the numerous empty lots strategically reserved for future expansion, a testament to the long-term planning characteristic of Japanese companies.
Entering the Assembly Line: Security and Safety First
The main entrance to the assembly building resembled a hotel lobby more than a typical factory, a surprising departure from industrial norms. However, security was immediately apparent. Despite my official camera pass, security personnel took note of my Nikon, requiring confirmation from Melissa about my authorized access.
We were then introduced to Mario Lozoya, Director of Government Relations and External Affairs for Toyota North America. Before entering the production floor, we were equipped with essential safety gear: steel-tipped shoes, hard hats, safety glasses, and belt-buckle covers. This emphasis on safety underscored the importance Toyota places on worker protection within the manufacturing environment. While not strictly “Tmmtx Uniforms” in a traditional sense, this standardized safety attire ensures a secure and consistent workplace for all personnel.
Through the Blue Doors: Into the Heart of Production
Toyota Entrance Blue Doors
Image: The iconic blue double doors at the entrance to the Toyota TMMTX truck plant, symbolizing the transition into the high-tech manufacturing space.
Passing the commemorative 1-millionth Toyota Tundra produced at TMMTX, we walked through large blue double doors and entered the truck plant itself. The first sight was a series of monitors displaying real-time production data, metrics Toyota uses to track efficiency and performance. While we were asked not to photograph this sensitive information, its prominent display highlighted Toyota’s commitment to transparency and data-driven improvement, making key performance indicators readily accessible to the entire workforce.
Stop, Look, and Point: A Culture of Safety
Toyota TMMTX Stop Look Point
Image: A “Stop, Look, and Point” safety circle on the Toyota TMMTX factory floor, illustrating the company’s commitment to proactive safety protocols.
Walking paths throughout the plant are clearly marked, and at intersections with delivery vehicle, forklift, and robot traffic, white circles are painted on the floor. At these points, Toyota team members are required to stop, physically point left, right, and straight ahead before proceeding. This “Stop, Look, and Point” protocol, initially appearing unusual to an outsider, is rigorously followed by everyone, regardless of rank.
Melissa explained that this practice, while seemingly quirky, is crucial for preventing accidents involving robots and vehicles moving throughout the plant. She even admitted to catching herself performing the “Stop, Look, and Point” routine in everyday situations outside the factory, a testament to the ingrained safety culture at Toyota.
The Robot Workforce: Precision and Automation
Roving Robots at Toyota
Image: Roving robots in operation at Toyota TMMTX, autonomously transporting parts and materials across the factory floor with precision and efficiency.
Robots were ubiquitous throughout the TMMTX plant. The first robots we encountered resembled low-profile, branded skateboards, equipped with blinking red and green lights.
Roving Robots at Toyota Truck Factory
Image: Close-up of roving robots navigating the Toyota TMMTX factory floor, highlighting their compact design and integrated safety lighting.
Robots at Toyota Truck Factory
Image: Roving robots carrying stamped Tacoma body panels, demonstrating their role in just-in-time delivery of parts to the production line.
These automated guided vehicles (AGVs) efficiently transported stamped Tacoma body panels, following tracks embedded in the floor and delivering parts precisely where needed, just-in-time for assembly. This system eliminates the need for extensive on-site inventory, streamlining operations and maximizing space.
Robots moving at Toyota Truck Plant
Image: Roving robots seamlessly moving along designated tracks at the Toyota TMMTX plant, showcasing the sophisticated automation system in place.
Robots following tracks on floor
Image: Tracks embedded in the Toyota TMMTX factory floor, guiding the roving robots and ensuring precise and organized movement of materials.
When we inquired about metal stamping and welding, Mario informed us that these processes were entirely robotized and off-limits to photography, highlighting the advanced, often unseen, automation at play.
Dashboards On Demand
Toyota TMMTX Dash Delivery Robot
Image: A skateboard-like robot delivering a dashboard to the Toyota TMMTX production line, showcasing the automated just-in-time delivery system for vehicle components.
Further along the production line, similar skateboard robots delivered dashboards, ensuring the right dashboard arrived at the right station at the precise moment needed.
Skateboard-like robots delivered the exact right Toyota dashboard
Image: Robots precisely delivering dashboards to the Toyota TMMTX assembly line, contributing to the factory’s highly efficient and synchronized manufacturing process.
The factory operated with clockwork precision, a seamless integration of robotic and human effort. Toyota team members utilized robotic arms to lift dashboards from the robot cradles and guide them into the trucks on the assembly line.
Dashboards to Toyota truck
Image: Toyota team members using robotic arms to install dashboards into trucks on the assembly line, demonstrating the collaboration between humans and robots in the manufacturing process.
Robots on the line
Image: Robots and human workers collaborating on the Toyota TMMTX assembly line, highlighting the synergy between automation and human expertise.
As soon as a dashboard was removed, the delivery robot promptly returned, and another robot arrived with the next dashboard, maintaining a continuous flow of parts.
Godzilla: The Cab-Handling Giant
Toyota TMMTX Godzilla
Image: “Godzilla,” the largest robot at Toyota TMMTX, lifting a truck cab, showcasing its immense size and power in the manufacturing process.
Dominating the factory floor was “Godzilla,” the plant’s largest robot. This colossal robotic arm picks up freshly welded truck cabs from the second story and gently lowers them onto the first-floor production line.
Godzilla Robot at Toyota Truck Plant
Image: Another view of the “Godzilla” robot in action at Toyota TMMTX, emphasizing its precise and fluid movements while handling heavy truck cabs.
Godzilla at Toyota
Image: “Godzilla” robot effortlessly lifting and maneuvering a truck cab at Toyota TMMTX, demonstrating the advanced robotic technology employed in the plant.
Toyota TMMTX Godzilla
Image: Close-up of the “Godzilla” robot’s arm and gripper mechanism at Toyota TMMTX, highlighting the engineering precision required to handle heavy truck components.
After Godzilla at Toyota
Image: Truck cabs moving along the production line after being placed by the “Godzilla” robot, continuing the assembly process towards final vehicle completion.
Godzilla’s movements were both powerful and graceful, a mesmerizing display of robotic engineering. After Godzilla, the unpainted cabs pass through a shine bay for thorough inspection before entering the paint shop, continuing the pattern of human and machine collaboration for quality and efficiency.
Unexpected Vending: Safety Gloves at Hand
Toyota Truck Vending Machine
Image: A vending machine dispensing brass knuckle safety gloves at Toyota TMMTX, providing workers with readily accessible personal protective equipment.
An unusual vending machine dispensing brass knuckle safety gloves caught our eye. These weren’t weapons, but lightweight, flexible, and cut-resistant safety gloves worn by the majority of production line team members. This readily available PPE further emphasized Toyota’s commitment to worker safety, providing easy access to essential protective gear.
Engine and Transmission Integration
Toyota truck engine and transmission assemblies
Image: Engine and transmission assemblies being lowered from the ceiling at Toyota TMMTX, ready for installation into truck chassis on the production line.
Another impressive process involved the installation of engine and transmission assemblies. Yellow safety doors opened in the ceiling above the production line, allowing these heavy units to descend precisely over waiting truck chassis.
Guiding the Toyota engine and transmission into the truck chassis
Image: Toyota team members guiding an engine and transmission assembly into a truck chassis, demonstrating the precision and teamwork involved in this critical assembly stage.
A two-person team then guided the engine and transmission into place. The subsequent station performs inspections and secures the assemblies to the chassis.
The “Marriage” Ceremony: Cab and Chassis Unite
Truck Marriage at Toyota
Image: The “truck marriage” process at Toyota TMMTX, where the upper body (cab and bed) is robotically joined with the lower chassis, engine, and transmission.
Truck assembly involves two main sections: the upper body (cab and bed) and the lower section (chassis, transmission, and engine). These sections are built on separate production lines and then joined together by a massive two-story robot in a process known as “marriage.”
Toyota truck marriage cab and chassis
Image: Close-up view of the “truck marriage” at Toyota TMMTX, showing the precise alignment and joining of the upper and lower truck sections by a large robotic system.
This complex operation occurs as the truck moves along the production line, ensuring continuous flow. The precision is remarkable, with the correct cab and bed always perfectly matched to the corresponding chassis, transmission, and engine.
Wheels and Tires: A Robotic and Human Partnership
Toyota wheel and tire elevator
Image: A Toyota TMMTX wheel and tire elevator system, delivering wheel and tire assemblies to the production line for efficient installation.
Wheel and tire installation is another example of human-robot collaboration. Wheels and tires are delivered via a tire elevator to the production line.
Toyota Tires on Truck
Image: Toyota team members using a robotic arm to maneuver a wheel and tire assembly for installation on a truck, showcasing the ergonomic support provided by automation.
A Toyota team member uses a robotic arm to lift and position the wheel and tire onto the truck, which is elevated for ergonomic comfort.
Wheel and tires on Toyota truck
Image: Wheel and tire assembly being fitted onto a Toyota truck at TMMTX, with the truck elevated to optimize working conditions for the assembly team.
Wheel tightening robot at Toyota
Image: A robotic wheel tightening system at Toyota TMMTX, precisely tightening wheel bolts while moving along with the truck on the assembly line.
Once positioned, the same team member guides a specialized robot that precisely tightens the wheel bolts. This robot moves with the truck, tightening bolts and then returning to position for the next vehicle, a perfectly choreographed dance between human skill and robotic precision.
An Overhead View: Complexity and Coordination
Toyota factory look up
Image: Overhead view of the Toyota TMMTX factory interior, showing the complex network of conveyors and systems transporting parts and components throughout the plant.
Looking up within the plant revealed a complex landscape of conveyor systems transporting truck bodies, seats, doors, and other components overhead, between production lines, and along raised catwalks, all orchestrated by computer control.
Above at the Toyota plant
Image: Another perspective of the overhead systems at Toyota TMMTX, illustrating the efficient use of vertical space for material transport and component delivery.
Final Checks: Inspection and Adjustment
Toyota Truck Final Inspection
Image: Final inspection of Toyota trucks at TMMTX, where team members meticulously examine vehicles for quality and adherence to manufacturing standards.
As Tundras and Tacomas near the end of the production line, they undergo meticulous final inspections.
Tacoma truck final inspection
Image: Close-up of a Tacoma truck undergoing final inspection at Toyota TMMTX, with team members checking panel alignment and finish quality.
Calibrated foam wands are used to check exterior tolerances, revealing any deviations in sheet metal or body panel fit.
Toyota inspection foam wand
Image: Toyota inspection team member using a foam wand to check body panel alignment during final inspection at TMMTX, ensuring precise fit and finish.
Team members also rely on touch and hearing, opening and closing hoods, doors, and tailgates to assess fit and finish. Soft rubber mallets are used for minor adjustments to hood and door alignment, ensuring each truck meets Toyota’s exacting standards.
Toyota trucks soft rubber mallets
Image: Soft rubber mallets used by Toyota TMMTX inspection teams for fine adjustments to body panels, ensuring perfect alignment and finish on every vehicle.
The Truck Hospital and Shine Bays: Quality Assurance
Toyota Truck Hospital
Image: The “Truck Hospital” area at Toyota TMMTX, where vehicles requiring further attention and rework are addressed before final release.
Vehicles that do not pass final inspection are directed to the “Truck Hospital,” where issues are addressed, and the trucks are re-inspected.
Shine Bay at Toyota TMMTX
Image: A “Shine Bay” at Toyota TMMTX, used for thorough vehicle inspection under optimal lighting conditions to identify any surface imperfections.
Shine Bay at Toyota Trucks
Image: Another “Shine Bay” area at Toyota TMMTX, highlighting the multiple inspection stations dedicated to ensuring top-tier vehicle quality.
Numerous shine bays throughout the plant, both on and off the production line, provide dedicated spaces for detailed inspections of the entire vehicle or specific areas like the underbody and sheet metal.
Music and Data: Continuous Improvement in Action
Melodic computer tones occasionally played in the factory, signaling a temporary halt in the production line due to a quality control issue identified by a team member. Employees are encouraged to stop the line whenever they spot a problem, a core element of Toyota’s renowned quality control practices. These incidents are analyzed to identify opportunities for improvement.
A room adjacent to the factory floor displayed hundreds of charts and graphs tracking efficiency and quality data. Team leaders gather daily to analyze this visual data and discuss improvement strategies.
Unlike many RV factories where music is played to boost morale, the TMMTX plant maintains a focused environment, reserving music-like tones solely for production line stoppage alerts.
Kaizen Lab: The Engine of Constant Improvement
TMMTX Kiazen Sign
Image: The “Kaizen” sign at Toyota TMMTX, marking the area dedicated to continuous improvement and operational excellence.
The Kaizen Lab, dedicated to “constant improvement,” embodies this philosophy. This R&D laboratory analyzes efficiency data, quality control reports, ergonomics, and team feedback to identify and implement improvements in quality, efficiency, safety, and worker comfort. Kaizen principles are applied across all aspects of management and production at Toyota.
Toyota Kiazen Ergonomic Lift
Image: Ergonomic lift and workstation design within the Kaizen area at Toyota TMMTX, focusing on improving worker comfort and efficiency through optimized tools and processes.
Toyota TMMTX Kaizen Innovations
Image: Examples of Kaizen innovations at Toyota TMMTX, demonstrating the company’s commitment to continuous improvement and employee-driven solutions.
From robot implementation to ergonomic workstation design, Kaizen principles are evident throughout the plant. Toyota employees are encouraged to apply Kaizen to everything they do, even desk organization. The widespread adoption of Kaizen across all Toyota factories and the sharing of research underscores its deep integration into the company culture.
A Model for Manufacturing Excellence
The Toyota Production System, including just-in-time production and lean manufacturing, is partially adopted by some RV manufacturers. However, Toyota’s depth, breadth, and cultural integration of these principles are unmatched. While the RV industry might selectively apply TPS elements, Toyota embeds it into every facet of its operations, every day.
Gratitude to Toyota
Toyota Melissa Sparks
Image: Melissa Sparks of Toyota Motor North America and Angela White of Truck Camper Magazine, acknowledging the successful factory tour experience and Toyota’s hospitality.
We extend our sincere thanks to Mario Lozoya and Melissa Sparks of Toyota Motor North America for their generous time and effort in providing an extensive and insightful private tour of the TMMTX facility. Their expertise and willingness to share information before, during, and after our visit were invaluable. Thank you, Toyota, for an exceptional look into world-class automotive manufacturing.
