Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Alabama donated 45 V6 engines produced at the Huntsville plant to tech schools in six counties. Shown here are Toyota Alabama President Jim Bolte and school representatives from Madison, Limestone, Morgan, Marshall, DeKalb and Cullman counties. (Contributed)
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Tech students in six North Alabama counties will be getting their hands on Toyota engines that were made on Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama’s newest engine production line.
Toyota donated 45 of its V6 engines to tech schools in six counties to be used in workforce development education. Students enrolled in automotive programs in Cullman, DeKalb, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, and Morgan counties will now have the latest technology to provide hands-on learning.
The announcement was made recently during the quarterly meeting of the Northeast Alabama Workforce Development Council Inc. comprised of Cullman, DeKalb, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Marshall, and Limestone counties.
“We believe it’s our responsibility to partner with educators to support career readiness programs that help develop our future workforce,” said Jim Bolte, Toyota Alabama president. “The gathering of the Workforce Council seemed like the perfect occasion to announce the donation of these engines. Toyota, just like members of this Council, is very interested and committed to developing career opportunities for students in the region.”
Toyota MMA is a Business Council of Alabama member and a member of a BCA partner, the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association.
The NAWDC is one of 10 councils in Alabama that focuses on providing a direct link to workforce needs of business and industry at the local level through strategic support for economic, education and job development activities.
The donated engines, labeled “trial” engines, are built to teach Toyota team members the proper engine manufacturing processes for customer vehicles. Students will now be able to learn on those same engines, increase their skills and hopefully their interest in the automotive manufacturing industry, Toyota said.
“This is the perfect example of how the industry-education partnership should work,” said Madison County Career Technical Center Director Michael Romine. We know that our students will learn so much from working with these engines, and I’m confident that Toyota will see the benefits of our career-ready graduates in the coming years.”
On hand for the announcement were representatives from the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, 50 members of the Regional Workforce Council, and Ed Castile, Deputy Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce.
“Toyota’s gift of these engines, again, demonstrates why they are among the best car companies in the world and one of Alabama’s finest corporate partners,” Castile said. “Congratulations to Mr. Jim Bolte and the entire Toyota Alabama team for their hard work and contributions to the Alabama and Tennessee Valley economy. They recognize the importance of education and they also know what it takes to build a sustainable workforce.”
In the last 50 years, Toyota has built more than 30 million cars and trucks in North America where it operates 14 manufacturing plants and directly employs more than 44,000 people. North America is home to 1,800 Toyota dealerships.