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Toyota sets new minority business spending target
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CINCINNATI, Ohio, December 04, 2006/ DiversityBusiness.com -- Toyota today announced a new minority business spending target at its 17th annual Opportunity Exchange conference and trade fair. Toyota's U.S. operations will target ten percent of the company's overall U.S. purchases of parts, goods and services with minority businesses.
"Toyota believes it is imperative to do business with minority enterprises," said Jim Press, president of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. "Not only does it help our bottom line, but it more closely reflects the diversity of our customers and employees across the United States."
Opportunity Exchange is designed to provide minority business enterprises (MBEs) across the nation with the chance to network and develop relationships with more than 275 of Toyota's direct suppliers. Since the first Opportunity Exchange in 1990, the event has grown from 100 participants and $350,000 in resulting MBE contracts to more than 1,800 participants and more than $100 million in new contracts through last year.
"Currently, more than seven percent of Toyota's US purchasing is done with Minority Enterprises," said Osamu "Simon" Nagata, vice president of Purchasing at Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. "Ten percent represents an aggressive target that will challenge Toyota and offer us a great opportunity."
Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in North America in 1957. By 2008, Toyota will have the annual capacity to build about 2 million cars and trucks in 15 plants across North America. There are more than 1,700 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America, which sell more than 2.5 million vehicles a year. Toyota directly employs nearly 40,000 people in North America. Toyota's investment in North America is valued at more than $17.6 billion. Toyota also was selected as America's Top Organization for Multicultural Business Opportunites for supporting Women and Diversity Owned companies by DiversityBusiness.com for the Year 2005.
For more information about Toyota's Supplier Diversity Program or for more information on how to become a supplier to Toyota, visit http://www.ToyotaSupplier.com.
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