Lily auto parts manufacturer not significantly impacted by Toyota problems

There is an old business adage that the key to success is diversification.

Diversification at Aisin Automotive Casting in Lily has kept the 500 employees on the job even though Toyota has temporarily shut down one of its assembly lines at the Georgetown plant while it deals with accelerator issues on the Toyota Camry

“The bottom line is this will have a very small impact,” said John Gilbert manager, human resources and general affairs at the Lily facility.

Gilbert said while Toyota is Aisin’s largest customer, it is not its only customer. In addition to engine and parts for Toyota’s Camry, Avalon and Tundra, the Lily plant manufactures engine parts for the Honda Accord, Saturn Vue and Nissan Titan, transmission parts for the Chevrolet Silverado and brake parts of the Toyota Tacoma and Sienna.

“Volume is up and down all the time,” Gilbert said of production at the Lily plant.

Toyota officials announced a recall of certain Avalons, Camrys, Corollas, Highlanders, Matrix, Prius, Rav4, Sequoia, Tacomas, Tundras, and Venzas, after it was discovered the accelerators might stick while in the open position.

While working to find a resolution to the problem, Toyota officials announced the Camry assembly line at the Georgetown plan would be shut down. However, Gilbert said officials have since announced the shutdown would only last one week.

Stopping production is never an easy decision, but we are 100% confident it was the right decision,” said Jim Lentz, president and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motor Services.

More information about the problem and Toyota’s efforts to address it are available at http://www.toyota.com/recall.