Toyota Production Engineering and PEMC Explained

Learn how Toyota Production Engineering and the PEMC in Kentucky support manufacturing, innovation and battery development across North America. Explore details.

Production Engineering at Toyota does not design vehicles or assemble them — it builds everything that makes production possible. This includes assembly lines, machinery and entire manufacturing facilities used to produce Toyota and Lexus models. This critical layer of engineering is concentrated at the Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center in Georgetown, Kentucky, where development and manufacturing are effectively connected.

The division operates within Toyota’s Manufacturing pillar and works alongside Manufacturing Operations as well as the Manufacturing Business Operations group established in 2025. Its structure includes five specialized areas, ranging from battery manufacturing engineering to engineering strategy and process excellence. The team consists of 1,274 members, most of whom are based at the PEMC, while others are deployed across 14 Toyota manufacturing sites in North America.

The importance of this role becomes clearer in the context of the Toyota Production System, developed by Taiichi Ohno and Eiji Toyoda. It is built on two core principles: Just-in-Time, which ensures production matches demand, and Jidoka, which integrates automation with human oversight to maintain quality. Together, these principles reduce waste, detect issues early and support consistent manufacturing standards.

At PEMC, these concepts are applied in practice. The facility, built in 2017, includes solar panels that generate about 26% of its daily energy needs. It also houses an additive manufacturing lab where engineers develop tools, prototypes and production-ready components using 3D printing technologies. At the same time, the Customer Quality for Production Engineering group collects and analyzes field data to improve processes and prevent recurring issues across plants.

Another key focus is battery development. Engineers in the Battery Cell team are trained across the full production cycle, from handling raw chemical materials to assembling lithium-ion battery cells. These batteries are used in Toyota’s hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles in North America.

The center’s work extends beyond launching new models. Production Engineering supports facility upgrades, implements continuous improvements and integrates new and existing technologies. This approach aligns with kaizen, Toyota’s philosophy of continuous improvement, where processes are constantly refined to enhance efficiency and quality.