Presidents from Mercedes-Benz U.S. and Toyota Motor Manufacturing will discuss their companies’ investments and strategies for bringing luxury vehicle production into U.S. manufacturing facilities, during the opening World Class Manufacturing session at CAR MBS on August 1.
Wil James, Jr., President, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky has led Toyota’s largest automotive manufacturing plant in the world for more than five years. He oversees a $6 billion operation which employs 8,000 people. At CAR MBS 2016, James will discuss Toyota’s strategy for the ES 350, the first Lexus to be built in the United States. Toyota’s investment of $350 million adds 50,000 units of capacity and 750 new jobs in Kentucky. James will also discuss Toyota’s approach to culture, preparing the team, and developing the Lexus mindset in Georgetown.
Jason Hoff, President and CEO, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International heads the Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant’s 3,500 team members in producing the GLE, GLS and GLE Coupe luxury sport utility vehicles for more than 135 countries, as well as the new C-Class for the North American market. Hoff will speak from his experience in assembly operations, and in supplier quality engineering, purchasing, and logistics. He’ll discuss the details behind Daimler AG’s decision to invest an additional $1.3 billion, resulting in 300 new jobs to support the production of future generations of SUVs in Alabama.
“These executives have lived in the trenches and know just what it means to deliver results in this highly competitive environment,” said Dr. Jay Baron, CAR’s President and CEO. Baron will moderate the opening session at MBS.
World Class Manufacturing
In a separate, special session of the World Class Manufacturing seminar, speakers will discuss the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the automotive manufacturing environment. IIoT enhances performance through the use of machine sensors, machine-to-machine communication and network communication with advanced analytics to create a “smart” environment where many decisions never require manual intervention.
IIoT also plays an important role in connecting the enterprise with other manufacturing functions and the supply chain. Speakers from GE Digital, Toyota Motor North America, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG will explore how several leading manufacturers are balancing their workforce with automation, information technology, and process advancements to achieve excellence in performance while producing world class automobiles.
