Q&A with Tim Hollander, president of Toyota Indiana
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In December, Tim Hollander became president of Princeton-based Toyota Indiana following Leah Curry’s retirement. Before the promotion, Hollander served as vice president of manufacturing at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana plant.
In 2023, Toyota Indiana launched two new products—the Grand Highlander in August and the Lexus TX in November—and added about 400 new positions. Hollander spoke with Inside INdiana Business about the southwestern Indiana plant’s success and his goals as president.
Tell me about your history with Toyota.
I started with Toyota over 25 years ago now. Time flies when you’re having fun. I started about six months prior to the first-generation Tundra rolling off the line in southwestern Indiana. When I started, there were about 600 team members on the ground, and now we’ve grown to over 7,500 team members. I got to experience that tremendous growth that Toyota Indiana has had over the last 26 years.
We’re focused on people development. I have had many opportunities with the company in the pillars of production control. That’s where I started out. Then I was in manufacturing for a number of years at the plant, which was a fantastic experience. Then I had the opportunity to move into the administration division for several years.
In 2015, I had the opportunity to go to our sister plant in West Virginia and lead the administration division. West Virginia makes the engines and transmissions, the powertrains for our North American vehicle plants. It was a whole different side of the business, the supply side, so it was great to learn. One of my key takeaways from that experience is West Virginia and Indiana—and Toyota in general—have great people.
Prior to this current role, I was the vice president of manufacturing at Toyota Indiana for the previous three years. Back on the manufacturing side, leading the operations of the plant, and then promoted into the president role.
I’ve also had the opportunity to serve on several boards throughout my almost 26-year history here. I serve on the Evansville Regional Business Committee board. I’m on the executive committee of the Evansville Regional Economic Partnership.
I represent Gibson County on the Regional Development Authority, which is a quasi-governmental group responsible for the distribution of the [Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative] funds and supporting the development of our communities. I’m on the executive committee of the Indiana Manufacturers Association, and I’m on the advisory council of Youth First, a local organization that supports young people in our community.
Why has Toyota Indiana been successful in Gibson County?
It goes back to our team members, our workforce. All the growth that I’ve outlined previously, from 600 team members to 7,500 team members. From an $800 million investment when I started to the $6.6 billion investment today. It goes back to the hard work and dedication of our team and what we built here over the last 26 years.
Our company has been blessed with great support from our local community in southwestern Indiana and across the entire state, including support from our local and state government leaders. The community at large has really contributed to our success.
There was a study done by the Center for Automotive Research several years ago that said one in 100 Hoosiers are employed as a result of Toyota Indiana, in some way, shape or form. It makes me proud of our success in Gibson County, what we built, and it’s a big responsibility for our team. Many people rely on us, and we take that very seriously. We work hard every day to pay that back.
Finally, our customers are what it’s all about. That’s who we’re here to make great products for. We want to continue to support our customers and provide them with the value product that they deserve. Our product lineup continues to evolve. That’s because of our focus on our customers. We want to focus on building where our customers are and where we sell our vehicles.
What are the challenges facing Toyota Indiana?
We’ve recently completed a very successful launch of our Grand Highlander and the Lexus TX. We finished those two launches at the end of 2023. For the first time ever, we’re truly a Lexus plant, building a Lexus product for our customers. We’re really proud of that.
Previous to that, we completed the major model change for our Sienna and our Highlander. All this change over the last five years has kept us extremely busy and challenged. But we’re focusing this year on stabilizing from all these changes to be ready to excel at any future challenges. We’re focused on getting our extremely high-demand products to our customers as quickly as possible.
Why did you want to lead Toyota Indiana?
I’m super proud of our team and our company. I’m also very proud of what we have built here and the way that we support our community. I want to do my part in whatever I can to continue to foster and build upon the great legacy that others have left us.
Toyota has a culture of development. I tell everybody that we grow our own here. I’ve been super fortunate to have had many leaders over the years invest in me, develop me, and now it’s my turn to give back and help pay it forward. Starting at Toyota Indiana from the beginning and growing up here to become the plant president is truly an honor and very humbling.
What have you learned from your predecessor, Leah Curry?
I’ve known Leah from the beginning … the first day I walked into the plant. Leah’s been a friend for my whole career here. She’s been a boss. She’s been a mentor. Leah leads with grace and style, always has and always will. I have the utmost respect for her and all her contributions over the years.
She really has a passion for developing people and raising them up, and she puts her whole self into developing the next generation of leaders. She encourages diversity in thought and opinion and wants to make sure every voice is heard. I want to continue to carry on this legacy into the future and help pay that forward.
What are your long-term goals?
The industry is changing quickly, and we have to change and adapt with it. Human development is critical for our future success. That’s where we’re focusing short, mid and long term.
We’ve got to focus on our team, our people, our team development, strengthening our core. When we do that, we will be ready to be the plant of choice for all future opportunities. I want to ensure we’re on the leading edge of new product development and production as well as changes in technology to secure our future.
What’s the future look like for Toyota Indiana?
If I had to say it in one word, I’d say bright. What we build today, it’s going to look different than what we’re going to build five years from now or ten years from now and 20 years from now.
We’re a 26-year-old plant, and we’re still a young plant in the eyes of the automotive world. We’ve got a long, bright future ahead of us. The folks that come in the door today as new hires, I want to make sure they have the same opportunities and growth potential that I’ve had over my last 25-plus years.