Tahara plant is an automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 plant

Plant

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...

 in Tahara, Aichi

Tahara, Aichi

is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of August 2011, the city had an estimated population of 63,886 and a population density of 338 persons per km². The total area was 188.81 km².-Geography:...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 owned by Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota Motor Corporation

, , , commonly known simply as Toyota and abbreviated as TMC, is a multinational automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. In 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation employed 317,734 people worldwide, and was the world's largest automobile manufacturer by production.The company was founded by...

. It is a highly computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

ized and robotized plant and produces the Lexus

Lexus

is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...

 brand of vehicles including the Lexus LS

Lexus LS

The Lexus LS is a full-size luxury sedan that serves as the flagship model of Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota. Four generations of the sedan have been produced, all equipped with V8 engines and rear-wheel drive, although since 2006 all-wheel drive, hybrid, and long-wheelbase variants have also...

, Lexus LS Hybrid, Lexus GS

Lexus GS

The Lexus GS is a series of mid-size luxury sports sedans / executive cars sold by Lexus since 1993. Designed to fill the gap between the ES and LS, and to provide Lexus with a performance sedan to compete in the mid-luxury class, three generations of the GS have been produced to date...

, Lexus IS

Lexus IS

The Lexus IS is a series of entry-level luxury cars / compact executive cars sold by Lexus since 1998. The IS was introduced as an entry-level sport model slotted below the ES in the Lexus lineup...

, Lexus GX

Lexus GX

The Lexus GX is a mid-size sport utility vehicle sold in North American and Eurasian markets by Lexus. The first generation GX 470 was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in 2002 as a 2003 model, and subsequently became the third SUV to enter Lexus' lineup. The 4.7 L V8...

, and Lexus LX

Lexus LX

The Lexus LX is a full-size sport utility vehicle sold by Lexus since 1996. Three generations of the Lexus LX have been produced, all based heavily on the long-running Toyota Land Cruiser series of SUVs. The first generation LX 450 debuted in 1996 as Lexus' first entry into the SUV market. Its...

 models. Several Toyota vehicles are assembled there as well such as the RAV4 and 4Runner

Toyota 4Runner

The Toyota 4Runner is a mid-size SUV manufactured by Toyota and sold throughout the world from 1984 to the present. In Japan it was known as the Toyota Hilux Surf...

. It is one of the most sophisticated plants in the world and has won awards for both the quality of production and attention to detail. This was awarded by JD Power and Associates.

When employees enter the factory floor, they have to go through an air shower to remove dust. Also the employees look through 4000 details for every car produced. The plant creates a Lexus every 87 seconds or 675 Lexus models per day. Workers are required to exercise and perform other physical activities such as holding and rolling golf balls in their palms. This keeps them sharp and is believed to help retain the standards necessary to produce flawless vehicles.

Columnist for The New York Times Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman

Thomas Lauren Friedman is an American journalist, columnist and author. He writes a twice-weekly column for The New York Times. He has written extensively on foreign affairs including global trade, the Middle East, and environmental issues and has won the Pulitzer Prize three times.-Personal...

 visited the plant in the early 1990s, and described the experience as an example of globalization in his best-selling 1999 book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree

The Lexus and the Olive Tree

The Lexus and the Olive Tree is a 1999 book by Thomas L. Friedman that posits that the world is currently undergoing two struggles: the drive for prosperity and development, symbolized by the Lexus, and the desire to retain identity and traditions, symbolized by the olive tree...

. In the book, Friedman detailed the precise installation of windshield rubber seals by the factory's robots, along with human quality controls.

External links

• Lexus Tahara - official site (in Japanese)
• Robot-filled Tahara sets standard for Toyota, world