Most of us are familiar with the Toyota and Lexus product lines at the level of finished vehicles. But what about a layer or two below that, for individual parts that need to come together to make those vehicles? 

That’s the business of the North American Parts Center Kentucky (NAPCK) which — along with its sister facility in Ontario, California — manages the flow of more than 400,000 parts daily to keep the cars, SUVs and trucks driven by nearly 30 million Toyota and Lexus owners moving. This year, the 700-plus workers in Hebron, Kentucky, are celebrating their 25th year in operation. 
 
To get a sense of what this massive 843,000-square-foot facility is all about, we had the opportunity to speak with three team members who have been there from the beginning, in some cases when it was just an architect’s blueprint. 

Today NAPCK takes in parts from more than 1,000 suppliers from around the world and funnels them to Toyota’s 15 Parts Distribution Centers across North America who, in turn, keep the parts departments at some 1,500 Toyota and Lexus dealers fully stocked to meet the needs of their customers. 

Kevin Jeffers, Warehousing Manager 

How did you find your way to NAPCK? 
I was recruited out of the University of Tennessee, where I was working toward a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on logistics and transportation, to apply for Toyota’s Management Trainee program. I started with a six-month rotation in Ontario in 1999 before transitioning to Northern Kentucky.  When selecting my rotations, I had learned Toyota was planning a new parts center in Kentucky. I asked a lot of questions about that and was told it was a new build with a lot of growth opportunities. So, I decided that rotation would be best for me. In December of that year, I was offered a full-time position as an operations leader in Accessories. That worked for me as Knoxville, Tennessee, was home. 

Back then, NAPCK was just a construction site. I got to see the walls go up so I have a unique perspective of what it looked like before all the racking and equipment went inside. I’ve seen how far we have come and I think that helps with looking forward with where we want to go. 

How has your role changed over the years? 
Initially, I rotated through various operations leader positions and then, in 2006, got promoted to production manager. There are a lot of opportunities here to do different versions of work from operations to logistics. It’s never the same thing every day. I had the chance to help launch our second shift in 2012 and later returned to first shift, staying in that role until 2019 when I had a brief stint as a production manager at the Parts Distribution Center in Cincinnati. I then got promoted to operations manager back at NAPCK a month or two before COVID hit. 

Looking back, we did a yard expansion, the second shift, added weekend operations, redesigned home positions, shrunk down our docks and increased the size of our storage space as we started to handle larger parts. Thanks to our kaizen mindset, we’ve adapted and evolved in response to changes in the world around us. 

Beyond your day-to-day responsibilities, what has your long-term relationship with Toyota meant to you? 
It has been great for my family. I have two teenage boys who have reached driving age, so the vehicle lease program is proving to be a great benefit to us. In general, the life-work balance here has allowed me to be available for family activities. The benefits and pay to provide for my family have truly been a blessing to me. 

More than that, Toyota’s business philosophy of respect for people has always aligned with my personal goals and mission statement. I’m the type of person who values putting down roots and being in it for the long haul and I’ve been able to do that at Toyota. 

Coming out of college, I had a competing offer from another company. When I told them I was also weighing an offer from Toyota, they said, “We understand. Thank you for considering us. We wish you the best of luck.” It was like they surrendered. So that was an “aha” moment for me very early in my career. Choosing to work for Toyota was definitely the right choice for me back then. And 27 years later, it continues to be the right choice. 

Stacey Sweet, Human Resources Analyst 

How did you find your way to NAPCK? 
I started 27 years ago. I was on the team that got the building going. I had been working with a clothing retail company at their warehouse and distribution center in Tennessee. It was a big operation. We fulfilled orders for clothing items with stores across North America. 

At the time, I had a friend who lived in the Cincinnati area who told me that Toyota was going to build this huge warehouse and distribution center for auto parts. I had gone to school in Kentucky, so I applied. I had this work experience with the clothing retail company where I got exposed to different areas of the operation, including human resources. Still, I was surprised that I got a call from Toyota about six weeks later. They said my friend had referred me and they really wanted to talk with me because I had the background they were looking for. 

They flew me up to Kentucky and I did an interview. The role they had in mind for me didn’t even have a job description yet. But it would include a lot of HR tasks, such as recruiting, onboarding, establishing policies. I was young and energetic and welcomed the opportunity to create something new, and they offered me the job. They basically said, “How soon can you move all your stuff up here and get started?” So, it all happened pretty quickly. 

How has your role changed over the years? 
Initially, we worked out of a temporary office because the facility was just a shell and was still being built. I started out as an HR analyst going to job fairs and then processing all the applications manually. We did the recruiting, presenting, testing, onboarding and training. Our goal was to cast as big a net as possible to attract a diverse group of team members to work here. We needed like 60 to 65 people to get started and then we brought in new team members in waves every other week. 

Back then, I was determined to learn as much about the business as I could. My dad really challenged me to work hard and to be as well-rounded in the job as I could because that would make me more valuable to the company. 

I’m very much a people person. I’ve really grown to appreciate the relationships I’ve built up with other team members over the years, from floor associates to the managers. I would not have been as successful as I’ve been in my role without that. It’s been a steady progression of growth in those relationships and in my knowledge of the business. People will approach me with an issue and I have the ability to walk through it with them and find a solution. 

Beyond your day-to-day responsibilities, what has your long-term relationship with Toyota meant to you? 
It’s the people who mean the most to me. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been here 27 years. People look at me and say, “What? Did you start when you were like 10 years old?” I was young, but not that young! 

My dad always said, if you do something you love you won’t work a day in your life. And I believe that. If you find the right career and the right people who keep you motivated and are always eager to help, that makes it very easy to come into work every day. 

Toyota has been very good to me. It’s been a great ride, hopefully with a lot more to go. 

Larry Jones, Advanced Shipping Notice Associate 
 
How did you find your way to NAPCK? 
Back then, I worked with a lawn care company that had commercial and residential customers in Cincinnati, Dayton and parts of Northern Kentucky. I enjoyed the work but I had started a young family and felt like I needed to find something that would financially sustain me. I had started training to qualify for a job with the Cincinnati Fire Department when I learned about the opportunity with Toyota. I grew up loving cars and had owned a couple of Toyotas before that. So, it was immediately appealing to me. 

I was hired in 2001, six months before the building opened. I got my start on the floor and learned the binning process. In fact, I was the first team member in my area to pick an order. 

How has your role changed over the years? 
I was promoted to team lead in 2003 and have continued to grow and develop since. In particular, I’ve really bought into the way Toyota does business, including the concept of “your next customer.” As a picker, I am in control of the quality of the parts that I put into the cart. That is of the utmost importance to the person who ordered these parts. Am I doing everything I can to take care of that customer? 

I’ve also been a stickler for kaizen. As I see it, it’s about looking at a problem and finding solutions as a group rather than change coming from management on down. It’s important that everyone feels they have a role to play and that they matter. 

Beyond your day-to-day responsibilities, what has your long-term relationship with Toyota meant to you? 
Over the years, I also became a diversity and inclusion champion and joined the African American Collaborative employee resource group. I believe inclusion is the biggest piece of that puzzle. Differences are easy to see. No two people are the same. But the bigger question is how are we all going to work together? Am I going to step out of my comfort zone so that this other person can shine along with me? So, I’ve tried to do what I can to help promote that mindset.