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'More than just building cars.' How Toyota plant in Georgetown has responded to pandemic.

Lexington Herald-Leader - 7/23/2020

Jul. 23--At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky helped fight the spread of the virus.

Susan Elkington, president and CEO of TMMK, said in a virtual meeting with the Lexington Rotary Club that, during the start of the pandemic when healthcare facilities were facing a shortage of personal protective equipment, her team donated supplies to regional healthcare facilities. Additionally, monetary donations were made between Toyota and the United Way to help the coronavirus response in Kentucky.

"We're more than just building cars," Elkington told the Rotary Club. "We have an important responsibility to give back to our communities."

Elkington said the Georgetown plant, which is Toyota's largest factory in the world, saw a halt in production from March 23 to May 17, as a result of the pandemic. Around 8,000 people work at the plant, which produces the Camry, Avalon, RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus ES models. The plant opened in 1988 and has an annual production capacity of 550,000 vehicles and 600,000 engines, according to the plant's website.

Currently, the plant is doing temperature screening of anyone who comes into the facility. Once inside, workers are required to wear a face covering "100% of the time," and can only take it off when they are eating, drinking or taking a rest, Elkington said.

"Our three guiding principles are to promote a safe workplace, adjust our production operations and care for our team members," Elkington said.

In addition to these safety measures, Elkington said the factory is enacting many different forms of social distancing. Normally, she said, a leader would meet everyday with around 25 workers. However, due to the new guidelines, the plant has lowered the size of group meetings to 10.

Additonally, Elkington said the plant has created a survey for workers to fill out, which examines if they have been exposed to COVID-19. She said since there are so many people who have ties to the factory, a lot of the survey work was done electronically.

"Our main goal is, if you're sick, stay home," Elkington said. "Don't come to work."

According to a slideshow that was presented to the Rotary Club, sales of new Toyota models were down 36.9% in March, 53.9% in April, 25.7% in May and 26.7% in June.

The slideshow said the automotive industry is recovering from the pandemic faster than other industries, and sales of new cars are expected to continue improving over the summer.

"A lot of people are still buying cars," Elkington said. "We were expecting a bigger drop in sales. However, it wasn't as severe as expected."

Elkington said the Goergetown facility manufactured face shields that slow the spread of infection, and donated over 500,000 shields across the United States, with around 86,000 being donated directly to frontline healthcare workers in Kentucky.

"We don't see that COVID-19 is going to go away any time soon," Elkington said. "So it's important for us to figure out how to do our work and adjust by still maintaining our core values."

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