Government, Company Officials Celebrate Finish of Construction of Toyota Plant in Indiana

8 July 1997
Government, Company Officials Celebrate Finish of Construction of Toyota Plant in Indiana

    PRINCETON, Ind., July 8 -- Government leaders and company
officials celebrated the end of building construction for the $700 million
Toyota plant in Princeton today.  To symbolize this milestone, a 3' by 20'
piece of siding was hoisted into place, thus ceremonially closing the last
opening in the 1.5 million square foot facility.
    Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon, U.S. Congressman John Hostettler and
Princeton Mayor George Taylor were on hand to congratulate Toyota and thank
them for selecting Indiana as the site for the company's newest vehicle
manufacturing operation.
    "We are proud to be here today to salute the progress of this plant.  It
will build more than pick-up trucks.  It will also build the economy
throughout southwestern Indiana," O'Bannon said.  "Already, other new plants
are going up nearby -- to supply this plant.  And that is just the beginning.
This huge enterprise will be very beneficial -- both for Toyota and for the
people of Indiana."
    About 150 Gibson County residents were also on hand to mark the occasion
by signing the piece of wall before it was lifted into place.
    Seizo Okamoto, president of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc.
(TMMI) attributed the company's ability to stay on schedule to the commitment
of the contractors and construction workers and continued community support.
    "As the building has come together, I feel that so has our relationship
with the people of Gibson County," Okamoto said.  "You continue to show your
enthusiastic support of Toyota and faith and trust in us as a company."
    To date, nearly 800 local construction workers have been involved in the
building project which has involved several local contractors, including
Koester Construction and Industrial Contractors, Inc., both of Evansville.
During the coming months, manufacturing equipment will be installed as the
next step in preparing for production start-up in late 1998.  The plant is
expected to produce 100,000 T100 trucks annually and will employ approximately
1,300 people.

SOURCE  Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Indiana, Inc.