CINCINNATI, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Keith White,
president of Liggon Trucking, felt pretty good when he headed back
to Evansville, Ind., following his
first visit to the Toyota Opportunity Exchange last November.
By the time the two-day event that provides minority-owned
businesses like Liggon the opportunity to network with Toyota's
direct suppliers was over, White had solidified a deal with Tier I
supplier Millennium Steel Service that involved him adding a
flatbed-hauling division to his company. It also meant the
addition of nine employees, six trucks and $1.2 million in new 2012 revenue.
"It helped us see another avenue for growth," said White, whose
four-year old company previously focused only on the dump-truck
hauling side of the business. "We had been working with
Millennium to expand, but it was at Opportunity Exchange where we
were able to sit down and solidify a plan and strategy.
Toyota has created a legacy of encouraging its Tier I suppliers to
develop and open the door for smaller minority-owned
companies."
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America
(TEMA) concludes the 23rd running of the event today at
the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati. In
all, nearly 1,600 people will have gathered at one of the largest
minority business events in the country -- free of charge.
Over just the past two years, more than $75
million worth of contracts were generated by minority
business enterprises (MBEs) as a result.
Adrienne Trimble, manager,
supplier diversity for TEMA, said the experience by Liggon and
Millennium is what the event is all about. "Each year,
Opportunity Exchange offers our current and prospective suppliers a
targeted forum for establishing and building meaningful business
relationships. We expect many more success stories this
year."
The event kicked off yesterday with seminars and panel
discussions focusing on several topics, including how MBEs and Tier
I suppliers can turn these relationships into opportunities.
Also, Toyota MBE suppliers (both direct and indirect) shared their
success stories in relation to how innovation leads to lower cost
of products, resulting in more business.
John E. Pepper, Jr., chairman of
the National Underground Railroad and Freedom Center and retired
chairman and CEO of The Procter & Gamble Co., provided the
keynote presentation at today's breakfast. Following the
breakfast, the tradeshow floor opened for business.
Over the course of two decades, Opportunity Exchange has
helped generate new business for MBEs and continues to help direct
suppliers diversify their own supply base. These partnerships
help add value and innovation to Toyota's products and services.
For more information about Toyota's supplier diversity
program please visit www.toyotasupplier.com.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM) established operations in North America in 1957 and currently operates
14 manufacturing plants. There are more than 1,800 Toyota, Lexus
and Scion dealerships in North
America which sold over 1.8 million vehicles in 2011. Toyota
directly employs more than 37,000 in North America and its investment here is
currently valued at more than $23
billion, including sales and manufacturing operations,
research and development, financial services and design. Toyota's
annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from
North American suppliers totals nearly $25
billion. Toyota currently produces 12 vehicles in
North America, including the
Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, RAV4, Sienna, Sequoia,
Tacoma, Tundra, Venza and the Lexus RX 350. For more information
about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com or www.toyotanewsroom.com.
SOURCE Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North
America, Inc.