Staff Reports
Toyota Industries Corp. Board Chairman Tetsuro Toyoda toured the Toyota Forklifts manufacturing facility in Columbus last week, his first visit to the local plant since 2013.
He also visited the newly constructed T-Rex recreational complex on the Toyota campus and checked out Toyota’s newly launched products, including the high-capacity adjustable wheelbase forklift.
While Toyoda and his wife Emiko were at the plant, Toyota Forklifts had a ceremony to commemorate a new pavilion on the campus, built to celebrate the business philosophies that have been the core of Toyota’s success.
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Brett Wood, president and CEO of Toyota Material Handling North America, hosted the event along with Jeff Rufener, president of Toyota Material Handling USA, and Alex Zensho, president and CEO of Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing.
The pavilion project follows the construction of a walking path, built in 2017, around a pond and wooded area on the campus. The walkway will include a series of plaques, each inscribed with one of the founding Toyoda Precepts. Toyota officials said this foundational philosophy is the cornerstone of its status as the top forklift manufacturer in North America.
“We want every associate and visitor to recognize that our success is rooted in the Toyoda Precepts,” Wood said at the ceremony. “No matter how long someone has been with our company, the Toyota philosophy continues to drive our commitment to excellence. It guides us to work the right way by being dedicated to continuously improving the world around us. That is something we hope everyone will reflect on every day they come to work.”
The five Toyoda Precepts inscribed on the plaques are:
Be Faithful: Always be faithful to your duties, thereby contributing to the company and to the overall good.
Be Ahead of the Times: Always be studious and creative, striving to stay ahead of the times.
Be Practical: Always be practical and avoid frivolousness.
Be Considerate: Always strive to build a homelike atmosphere at work that is warm and friendly.
Be Grateful: Always have respect for God and remember to be grateful at all times.
Company officials said the precepts were inspired by Toyoda’s great uncle, Sakichi Toyoda, generations ago.
