← Toyota Expert Interviews

Summary notes from an interview with Masatoshi Miyazaki, a 35-year veteran of Toyota’s Production Engineering Department No. 1 who later served as a special technical director at Aisin. He recounts the February 1, 1997 fire at Aisin’s Kariya plant, the sole source for proportioning valves, and the rebuild of the machining line from product drawings in under a month. He argues Toyota’s real strength is efficient process planning and mono-zukuri beneath the visible TPS tools.