OTTAWA, June 30, 2005 -- The Government of Canada today announced it will provide $55 million in support for a new Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. automotive assembly plant to be built in Woodstock, Ontario. This will be the first auto assembly plant built on a greenfield site in Canada since 1986, and it will create 1,300 direct new jobs.
"This announcement reinforces the Government of Canada's commitment to attracting new investment to Canada," said Prime Minister Paul Martin. "A new auto assembly plant will bring tremendous economic benefits to this country, and will help maintain Canada's global position in the auto sector."
The Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario have come together to support the new Toyota plant. The repayable federal support is part of an $800-million project to construct a state-of-the-art, flexible assembly plant that will use the latest Toyota manufacturing system. The federal funds will be used to support pre-production and environmental technologies in the plant and paint shop.
"Greenfield investments are rare and new auto assembly investments are coveted worldwide for the significant economic and technological benefits they generate," said the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry. "This new Toyota plant will bring employment and training opportunities, new infrastructure, advances in environmental technology research and development, and spin-off benefits to related industries."
Today's announcement follows a meeting the Prime Minister and Industry Minister had with Fujio Cho, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, in Tokyo, Japan, on January 19, 2005. Following this meeting, the company approached the provincial and federal governments to help support the project.
Toyota is a recognized global industry leader in terms of manufacturing excellence, innovation and environmental management, and is at the forefront of hybrid and fuel cell vehicle technology. The new plant will employ the latest innovations in flexible manufacturing technologies and processes, which will maximize efficiency and quality while reducing costs. Substantial environmental management initiatives are planned for the new plant and its suppliers.
In addition to the new assembly plant, Toyota has announced that it will invest another $39 million to expand capacity by 17 percent at Canadian Autoparts Toyota Inc. (CAPTIN), its aluminum wheel plant in Delta, British Columbia. This is the second expansion at CAPTIN in the last two years, and the sixth since production began in 1985.
This Government of Canada support is part of a larger commitment to the entire automotive sector -- Canada's largest industrial sector. Helping attract new vehicle assembly investments has been identified as a key priority and is supported by the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council, a private sector-led group composed of senior executives from industry (assembly, parts manufacturers and distributors and dealers), labour and academia, as well as the industry and economic development ministers from the governments of Canada, Ontario and Quebec.
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For more information, please contact:
Christiane Fox
Office of the Honourable David L. Emerson
Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001
Media Relations
Industry Canada
(613) 943-2502
Backgrounder
Support for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.
The Government of Canada has agreed to provide $55 million in repayable support to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. to support the company's planned investment of $800 million to build a new automotive assembly plant in Woodstock, Ontario. Supporting the auto industry is consistent with the government's strategy of promoting the development of key sector clusters across Canada, job creation and skills development.
The Government of Canada will partner with the Government of Ontario, which is prepared to contribute up to $70 million to the project. The Toyota project will create approximately 1300 direct jobs and provide opportunities for training, new infrastructure and investment in environmental technologies.
Toyota
Toyota is the world's second-largest vehicle manufacturer and is currently the fourth-largest producer in North America. Toyota has five assembly plants in North America, located in California, Kentucky, Indiana, Baja California and Ontario, and a sixth under construction in Texas. Its other manufacturing operations consist of seven auto parts and materials plants, and one forklift factory. Operations in Canada consist of a national dealer network and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario; a cold-weather testing centre in Timmins, Ontario; an aluminum wheel plant in Delta, British Columbia; and a vehicle assembly plant in Cambridge, Ontario.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (TMMC), which builds the Corolla, Matrix and Lexus RX330, has been recognized many times for outstanding productivity, quality and environmental management, and is the only plant outside Japan to produce a Lexus-brand vehicle. Both of Toyota's Canadian manufacturing facilities, TMMC and Canadian Autoparts Toyota Inc. (CAPTIN), have grown steadily over the years; direct investment and employment stand at $3.2 billion, with 4535 employees excluding today's announced expansions.
The long-term benefits of the new Woodstock assembly plant will be significant. The plant will initially create 1300 new jobs and increase Toyota's assembly capacity in Canada from 270 000 units to 420 000 units, making the Cambridge/Woodstock combination the second-largest operation among its wholly owned North American facilities. This additional production will create significant new opportunities for local parts sourcing, investment and employment by Toyota's suppliers in Canada.
Toyota is a recognized global industry leader in terms of manufacturing excellence, innovation and environmental management, and is at the forefront of hybrid and fuel cell vehicle technology. The new plant will employ the latest innovations in terms of flexible manufacturing technologies and processes, which will maximize efficiency and quality while reducing costs. Substantial environmental management initiatives are planned for the new plant and its suppliers.
In addition to the new Woodstock plant, Toyota is investing another $39 million to expand capacity by 17 percent at CAPTIN, its aluminium wheel plant in British Columbia. Annual production should increase to 1.68 million units and direct employment should rise by 30 new jobs to 260. CAPTIN has expanded six times since it opened in 1985, including a $10-million investment in 2003 to boost output by 20 percent to 1.45 million wheels, which it exports to both the U.S. and Japan.
Auto Industry
The automotive sector is Canada's largest industrial sector, accounting for 13 percent of manufacturing gross domestic product. It employs 168 500 people in vehicle and component manufacturing and accounts for 20 percent of Canada's exports. The vehicle assembly industry is concentrated in southwestern Ontario, due primarily to its proximity to the centre of North American automotive manufacturing in Michigan.
New automotive assembly investments are coveted worldwide for the significant economic and technological spin-offs they generate. The Canadian automotive assembly industry has tremendous direct and indirect economic impact across the nation. Each automotive assembly job creates 4.9 indirect jobs, which is well above the Canadian manufacturing average of 1.2 indirect jobs.
The automotive industry is the cornerstone of much of Canada's manufacturing base; no other manufacturing sector has as large an impact on Canada's economy. The health of many upstream industries depends on a robust automotive assembly industry, as the sector consumes 17 percent of rubber production, 14 percent of processed aluminium,
13 percent of wire goods, 8.5 percent of carpeting and fabric, 8 percent of glass, and 37 percent of steel foundry production.
The strength of the auto sector is driven by vehicle assembly, which is the immediate market for Canada's 900 auto parts facilities, located mainly in Ontario and Quebec. The vehicle assembly industry stimulates auto parts investment, innovation and skills development, helping to position Canada at the leading edge of new processes and technologies.
Government support of this project is part of a larger commitment to the entire automotive sector, which is a key industry sector cluster in this country. Helping attract new investment to the industry is one of the government's top priorities and is consistent with the recommendations of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council.
