Toyota opens RM200 million Integrated Quality Hub

Accessories Fitment Centre

As the largest non-national carmaker in Malaysia, UMW Toyota deals with some 90-100,000 cars a year  but despite the significant volume they want to be able to respond quickly to customer request for special equipment or specifications.

The Integrated Quality Hub at the Bukit Raja Industrial Park near Klang Northport is their answer to the dual demands of volume manufacturing and customisation.

More photos and Press Release after the jump.

Test Track

All vehicles produced locally and imported through the official Toyota channel, including the Lexus CT200H Hybrid are sent to the 87 acre processing centre for fitment of customised options and special components as well as final pre-delivery inspection.

The IQH is able to respond to customer request for special equipment package with as little as five days before delivery. Toyota expects this added flexibility to be translated to better customer purchase experience as it allows dealers and branches to offer better variant mix right down to the last few days before taking actual delivery of the vehicles in their inventory.

The large stockyard is able to hold as many as 9,500 cars, which represents about 22 days of stock given the centre's capacity for processing 420 cars a day.

Stockyard

The RM200 million centre is part of the company's RM1 billion planned expenditure in the next three years.

Toyota is not alone in adopting this central quality and logistics approach, Proton launched a similar facility in Sijangkang, near Portk Klang some months ago.

Datuk Mustapa Mohamed
and Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir
from MITI at the launch of the IQH

Unlike Toyota's facility which is owned and operated by UMW Toyota, Proton's facility was built and operated by logistics specialist KLAS.

Apart from the vehicle preparation centre, Toyota's IQH also includes a large scale paint and body repair shop which has 57 repair bays. This centralised body and repair shop is expected to ensure that cars repaired after accident damage can conform to the highest standard set by the manufacturer.

Manufacturing parts warehouse

The IQH also has a 2.1km test track with 1km long straight that will allow cars to be tested up to 140km.h.

The hub will test one car out of every batch that is delivered to ensure that they have been manufactured according to Toyota standard.



Read the Press release after the Gallery

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GALLERY


Accesories Fitment Centre

Manufacturing Parts Warehouse

Test Track

Paint and Body Repair Shop

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PRESS RELEASE



UMW TOYOTA MOTOR OPENS INTEGRATED QUALITY HUB
TO ENHANCE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Klang, October 10 – UMW Toyota Motor today held an opening ceremony for their new facility, UMW Toyota Integrated Quality Hub (IQH) in Bukit Raja, Klang to improve delivery of quality Toyota vehicles to its customers, at the shortest possible time. The company has allocated over RM 200 million to develop the 87.5 acres facility, as part of its RM 1 billion investment plan for three years until 2013.
The IQH consists of Centralized Vehicle Stockyard, Accessory Centre, Test Track, Body and Paint centre and Production Parts Warehouse.
The event to mark the significant milestone was held in the presence of Yang Berhormat Dato’ Sri Mustapa bin Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry and Yang Berhormat Dato’ Mukhriz Tun Dr. Mahathir, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry. Also present at the ceremony was His Excellency, Mr. Shigeru Nakamura, Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia; Mr. Yukitoshi Funo, Executive Vice President, Toyota Motor Corporation, YBhg Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor; Mr. Takashi Hibi, Deputy Chairman of UMW Toyota Motor and En. Ismet Suki, President of UMW Toyota Motor.
Speaking at the official opening ceremony of the new facility, Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, UMW Toyota Motor’s Chairman said, “We strongly believe in Customer First philosophy and always give our customers the topmost priority. We are committed to deliver high quality products and provide excellent services to our customers. ”
He added, “The main objective is to improve the delivery lead time so that customers can enjoy quality Toyota vehicles, fresh from the factory.”
Tan Sri Asmat also mentioned that all the operations at UMW Toyota Integrated Quality Hub are specifically designed with Toyota Production System (TPS) in mind.
“The new facility creates additional job opportunities for 430 new team members who will be trained based on our Standardized Work (SW),” continued Tan Sri Asmat. With the improved processes at the new facility, the company is confident that it would benefit its customers and improve customer satisfaction.
The centralized vehicle stockyard has a capacity to stock 9,500 vehicles at any one time. It receives and delivers a total of 420 vehicles per day. The Accessory Centre fits a total of 142 combination accessory items such as Navigation system, Audio System and Aerokit which are installed upon request from customers.
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The efficiency of this centre provides customers with the ability to confirm their desired accessories, 5 days prior to delivery of their vehicle to the respective outlets in Peninsular Malaysia. Final inspection to the vehicles is also done at the end of the line to ensure the Toyota quality standards are met.
The facility also consists of a 2.1 kilometer Test Track, which is built to conduct vehicle evaluation. The track includes a 1 kilometer straight line that allows vehicles to be tested up to 140 kilometers per hour. Tests conducted at the test track include performance and handling, hill climbing and different road condition evaluations such as wave, rope and slope.
A new Body and Paint Centre is also being built within the facility to enhance the company’s after sales services by first half of 2012. The facility will be equipped with 57 work bays and state-of-the-art equipment to cater for the needs of customers in the central region.
The new IQH will also include a production parts warehouse facility which is expected to start operation by second half of 2012. The 11 acres warehouse will store parts for UMW Toyota Motor’s manufacturing facility and accessory centre.
“We are confident that with this new facility, the improved processes and highly skilled staff would benefit our customers as well as improve customers’ satisfaction. We are also committed with the company’s theme for this year, ‘One Team - Customers First’ and will continue to produce high quality products and services in the future. This will further strengthen our position as the top-selling non-national brand in the country,” concluded Tan Sri Asmat.
UMW Toyota Motor also seeks further support from the Malaysian and Japanese Government to expand its future business operations. It also looks forward for the Malaysian government’s further implementation of the National Automotive Policy to ensure a long term competitiveness of the automotive industry.