1st Edition

Welcome Problems, Find Success Creating Toyota Cultures Around the World

By Kiyoshi "Nate" Furuta Copyright 2022
190 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
by Productivity Press

190 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
by Productivity Press

190 Pages 2 B/W Illustrations
by Productivity Press

In this book, author Nate Furuta, former chair and CEO of Toyota Boshoku America Inc., shares the story of his decades of experience directly leading the establishment of Toyota cultures outside Japan. Furuta was the first Toyota employee on the ground at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI), Toyota’s joint venture in California with General Motors, where he directly led the establishment... Read more

Foreword by John Shook

Introduction

Chapter 1: No Problem, No Improvement – NUMMI

Chapter 2: Develop Problem Solvers – Georgetown

 Chapter 3: Break Big Problems into Small Problems – Europe

Chapter 4: Endless Improvement – Georgetown Redux

 Chapter 5: Your Lean Journey

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Appendices

Biography

 Kiyoshi "Nate" Furuta

  • July 2010 to present: Principal of N Furuta Lean Support Advisory. Provide consulting service to manufacturing companies mainly in the area of human resource asset management while being Advisor to Toyota Boshoku America, and Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. from 2010 to 2014.
  • May 2007 to June 2010: Chairman & CEO of Toyota Boshoku America, Inc. a $1.5 billion manufacturer of seat systems and interior parts for the automotive industry. Established headquarters for North & South American operations; restructured whole manufacturing operations by converting joint ventures with Lear and JCI into stand-alone wholly owned plants. Added new plants in Mississippi and Indiana.
  • January 2005 to April 2007 Senior Vice President, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America Inc. Responsible for Human Resources, Team Member Development Center, and Information Systems.
  • August 2001 to December 2004: EVP Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing Europe. Responsible for Accounting & Finance, Corporate Planning, Human Resources, Production Control, Information System, and Production Engineering. Played instrumental role in turning around Toyota’s European operations to achieve profitability for the first time.
  • January 2000 to July 2001: Project General Manager, Toyota Motor Corporation. Designed a world class Plant Management System including the Toyota Plant Management Requirement, which has been adopted to evaluate every Toyota plant in the world.                          
  • April 1996 to January 2000: VP Corporate Planning Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc. Member of Start-up Team for newly formed North American Manufacturing Headquarters. Responsible for establishing overall management systems to integrate manufacturing subsidiaries effectively under one umbrella in North America.