Toyota’s North American Parts Center Kentucky (NAPCK) in Hebron, Kentucky, is celebrating 25 years of operations.
The 843,000-square-foot facility employs more than 700 workers and, together with a sister facility in Ontario, California, helps manage the movement of more than 400,000 automotive parts daily. The operation supports nearly 30 million Toyota and Lexus vehicle owners across North America.
The Kentucky facility receives parts from more than 1,000 suppliers worldwide and distributes them to Toyota’s 15 Parts Distribution Centers throughout North America. Those centers supply approximately 1,500 Toyota and Lexus dealerships with replacement parts and accessories.
Since opening in 2001, the facility has expanded its operations to include additional shifts, weekend operations, increased storage capacity and improvements to its shipping and receiving processes.
Three longtime employees, Warehousing Manager Kevin Jeffers, Human Resources Analyst Stacey Sweet and Advanced Shipping Notice Associate Larry Jones, reflected on their experiences as the facility marks its anniversary.
Jeffers joined Toyota in 1999 and witnessed the Kentucky facility’s construction, while Sweet helped establish its original hiring and human resources operations. Jones joined in 2001, six months before the building opened, and later advanced into a leadership position. All three described the facility’s growth, changes in operations and their experiences working for Toyota over more than two decades.