83 / 188
81
• The aim of the labour union was to have the fired employees from 1982
from the factory where GM produced their big vehicles (Fremont California)
employed.
• President of UAV Douglas Fraser even went to Japan to lobby at Toyota
representatives to move the production to the USA (in that time employment
rate in the American automotive industry decreased by 33%).
• The aim of the labour union was to attract Japanese producers to the USA
which would increase employment rate, tax collection and development of
the region where the car producer would settle down.
The objectives and purpose of a new joint venture – New UnitedMotor Manufacturing,
Inc. (NUMMI) resulted from the aims of particular elements of this cooperation
grouping:
• The aim of NUMMI was to learn the culture of the workers in the USA
and to transform them to the Japanese style of production. Building trust
between the employees and the company management was a concern. “GM
had problems with selling the model NOVA in year 1987-1988 and GM
permanently decreased orders for production of this model in NUMMI.
The management established kaizen teams to solve useful tasks and that way
they built employees’ trust step by step”).
• To educate the American suppliers of parts step by step and to show them
the Japanese style of production TPS.
• To make a “learning laboratory” fromNUMMI. Hundreds of GMmanaging
employees crossed the gates of NUMMI.
• To produce small, economical, reliable, high-quality cars for which there
was the demand in the period 1980
−
1990.
Cooperation of the two biggest competitors on the American market brought
significant advantages for both parties. The presidents of both companies, Fujio Cho
on behalf of Toyota Motor Corporation and Richard Wagoner on behalf of General
Motors Corporation, stated the following at the conference commemorating the 20th
anniversary of establishing NUMMI in 2004: “NUMMI succeeded from the whole
beginning in the fact that they brought work and economic development to California
and showed that global producers of automobiles can work together and learn from each
other”. Cho commented that NUMMI was a start of production of Toyota in the North
America. With no partnership 20 years ago, Toyota would not be where they are now.
4.2.3 Elements and processes of the NUMMI joint venture
Toyota Motor Corporation is among to the largest producers of automobiles.
They sold more than 8.8 million units in 2006 in five continents. According to the
Top 10 Fortune Global 500 chart Toyota is among the largest global companies. The
company states that they have reached this position particularly due to the fact that
they are a customer-satisfaction oriented company. The company Toyota was built on
a grouping and on the principles with the roots in Japan in their first years.
• Toyota Supplier Support Center: The centre was established in 1992 at the
factory NUMMI intended to provide trainings of the Toyota Production