Toyota To Centralize Operations

Toyota Motor Corp. will centralize supervision of its far-flung North American manufacturing operations at a new facility in northern Kentucky, company and state government officials said Thursday.

“It signifies that Toyota is taking North America even more seriously,” Toyota Vice President Jim Wiseman said at a ceremony at the Capitol Thursday. An exact site has not yet been chosen.

Wiseman said the oversight of manufacturing support in a single location will give greater autonomy to the operation from the company’s Japanese headquarters.

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority on Thursday approved an incentive package that could be worth up to $13.25 million in tax credits.

Toyota spokeswoman Frances Champion said Toyota will centralize supervision of purchasing, engineering and administration in northern Kentucky. She said the company’s sales and marketing operation and its research efforts will remain separate.