Lexus Magazine has a new feature on the man responsible for leading the LFA Works manufacturing team, Shigeru Yamanaka:
Shigeru Yamanaka, manufacturing manager at the LFA Works, sums it up with characteristic precision: “We are actually a Takumi team.”
Within Lexus, a Takumi—literally, “artisan”—is one of the 10 to 12 top guns of manufacturing. To be a Lexus Takumi, you must reach a virtuoso standard of craftsmanship—the automotive equivalent of a 10th Dan black belt.
“I put together the Takumi team at the LFA Works with people who were recommended by various manufacturing departments in the company because of their expertise,” he says. “They’ve been handpicked to manufacture 500 examples of the LFA to the highest standards. At a conventional assembly facility, one worker would be assigned typically four or five tasks. At the LFA Works, one person will handle 150 tasks or more.”
“As manufacturing manager of the LFA, I know my responsibility. So I work diligently every day, visualizing the happy smiles of customers. I’m acutely aware of the strong passion of those involved in the LFA, including president Akio Toyoda and LFA chief engineer Haruhiko Tanahashi. I will continue to work hard and be full of passion.”
A couple shots of the actual Motomachi LFA assembly line:
When you get this view into the manufacturing of the LFA, and you see just how much care is put into its assembly, the $375k price tag is put into an entirely different context. No question, it’s a lot of money, but this level of craftsmanship could very well be the high water mark of the entire automotive industry — what an amazing story.
[Souce: Lexus Magazine]
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