12/22/2016 12h31

With the support from Investe SP, Toyota do Brasil announces expansion plant in Porto Feliz (SP)

Project will receive investments of approximately R$ 600 million and should generate 200 jobs

Investe São Paulo
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    The investment was announced to the governor Geraldo Alckmin during a meeting at Palácio dos Bandeirantes

  • Download Ciete Silverio / A2ad

    Investe São Paulo has been providing support to Toyota in various projects in the State

  • Download Ciete Silverio / A2ad

    The plant in Porto Feliz is Toyota’s first engine plant in Latin America and the Caribbean

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    The plant in Porto Feliz was opened in May this year, and included investments amounting to R$ 580 million in the first phase

Toyota do Brasil will expand its engine plant in Porto Feliz (SP), which will produce engines for the midsize sedan Corolla, in the second half of 2019. The project was communicated to the State Governor, Geraldo Alckmin, on November 29, and relied on the support provided by Investe São Paulo, the investment promotion agency associated with the Department of Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation.

“We started providing support to Toyota for this plant in 2012, and even before that, we already worked with the company for the consolidation of its plant in Sorocaba. We are proud to say that the company is one of our oldest clients, who believe in the state of São Paulo and in the structure that the state has to offer to investors”, said the agency’s president, Juan Quirós.

The project will receive an investment of R$ 600 million and should generate 200 job opportunities. The estimated production volume of engines for Corolla totals approximately 66,000 units per year, which will increase the plant capacity from the current 108,000 engines to 174,000.

The investment reinforces Toyota’s sustainable growth plans in Brazil and Latin America, in addition to confirming the company’s commitment to contribute to the local community and society, producing increasingly better cars.
Currently, Toyota produces in Porto Feliz 1.3- and 1.5-liter Dual VVT-i flex-fuel and gasoline engines, which equip the compact Etios, sold in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguai, Paraguai and Peru.

“The investment made by Toyota in Porto Feliz (SP) for the production of engines for Corolla is a sign of our long-term commitment to Brazil and Latin America”, said Steve St. Angelo, Chairman of Toyota do Brasil and CEO of Toyota for Latin America and the Caribbean. “This expansion is a proof of what is possible to do when unions, governments, suppliers, Toyota and its employees work together in a single mission. This plant is undoubtedly a model for the future of global manufacturing and establishes a new standard for innovation and excellence”.

The plant in Porto Feliz is Toyota’s first engine plant in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean and features the most advanced and innovative technology of production processes.

The plant in Porto Feliz has already received investments amounting to R$ 580 million in its first phase and will now receive a new investment of R$ 600 million for the production of Corolla, totaling R$ 1.18 billion.

Considered one of Toyota’s most modern plants in the world, the engine plant in Porto Feliz is one of the company’s first plants to have all three industrial processes within a single location – casting, machining and assembly.

Casting

A large amount of molten aluminum alloy is required during this process. The implementation of modifications to the heat source of the smelting furnace, responsible for the first casting step, allowed a reduction in the equipment size, and consequently, a direct connection with the casting machine, responsible for the second step of the aluminum alloy processing.

Originally, the process required the transportation of molten aluminum from the smelting furnace to the casting machine, which was often marked by a long way.

The result is a marked improvement in terms of safety, as the dangers associated with the transportation of molten metal have been eliminated, since the space required for smelting and casting is significantly smaller, which eliminates the transportation process. Another benefit is the gain in productivity, as the amount of molten metal can now be more readily adjusted to meet the demand.

Inorganic sand cores

Cores are devices placed in casting molds to create internal cavities in the final cast component. In this procedure, once molten metal is poured in and has hardened, the cores are broken. Organic additives are traditionally used during casting, due to the need for a combination of ease of disintegration, strength, heat resistance, and molding properties.

However, using cores with organic additives causes tar particles and strong odors to be emitted during the combustion process. This, in turn, requires the use of large dust collectors and deodorizers to remove such by-products. Toyota developed a technique that improves the shaping properties of cores through the use of inorganic matter additives instead of organic matter.

The resulting reduction in the volume of tar particles emitted means that the size of dust collectors can also be reduced. In addition to saving space, this also results in a significant reduction of risks of fire, as well as necessary the maintenance and cleaning of the workplace.

Similarly, the reduction in odor generated also eliminates the need for deodorizers, which further reduces the space designated for casting and thus reduces the initial investment.