Many of you may have attended the Coatings 2003 show held in Indianapolis in October. If you did, you may have had the opportunity to listen to Kevin Butt, the assistant general manager of body engineering for Toyota North America. With the kind of worldwide competition that we all face today, it was interesting to listen to someone who represents a company that is not just holding its own but gaining in market share and product loyalty.
Mr. Butt shared some interesting concepts that provide focus and planning at Toyota, what he called the "Indy 501," an extra mile for quality and productivity. One key philosophy is to think "slim." (Not a reference to losing weight). In this case, slim is a reference to reduced system size, reduced processing times and reduced lead times.