PLANO, Texas — After three years of planning and construction, Toyota Motor North America Inc. celebrated the grand opening of its new centralized headquarters in Plano Texas on Thursday.
The new facility, which brings the OEM and Toyota Financial Services closer together, will not only allow its employees to collaborate and communicate more effectively, but also allow the OEM to be “quicker to market,” Chief Executive Jim Lentz said during a roundtable discussion at the event.
TFS joins Toyota Motor Sales USA, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, and TMNA in this single campus headquartered in the Dallas area, where the company plans to spend $10 billion in U.S. capital investments over the next five years, Lentz told attendees. The campus is still under construction and expected to be completed by October.
To date, Toyota has already invested more than $1 billion in the new campus. The move will add up to 4,000 jobs to North Texas by yearend, Lentz said. The OEM has hired 800 new employees across all sectors, with plans to hire an additional 200 more in the departments of engineering, accounting, sales, and marketing.
The new campus isn’t just creating thousands of jobs, but is also altering the way Toyota employees work together. The space is expected to bring about a more collaborative and interactive environment, said Doug Beebe, general manager of real estate and facilities for TMNA.
The campus, which spans 100 acres — or 2.1 million square feet — houses seven buildings which are arranged around a central courtyard that “acts as the literal and symbolic heart of all campus functions,” according to electronic signs posted throughout the campus.
Employees will utilize a Wayfinder app to navigate through the buildings and rooms, Beebe said. Some of Toyota’s features for employees include:
An on-site credit union — Unify Financial Credit Union — with an ATM- A 22,900-square-foot fitness center with 80-plus fitness machines
- Club-style facility with locker rooms, towel service, and showers
- A two-story rock climbing wall
- Three group exercise studios for spin and pilates classes
- 12 food and beverage locations — such as Starbucks, juice bars, cafes, and food markets
- Dining seating for approximately 1,000 people
- A convenience store and pharmacy
- An on-site doctor and wellness center
- Collaborative workspaces that include a sitting or standing desk option
With construction nearly complete, occupancy began in late spring. An average of a couple hundred team members per week are moving in, including TFS employees who are still working in the transition space located off-campus, Beebe told Auto Finance News. The move for all employees is expected to continue in phases through December.
