One of the world's largest automakers is increasing its Canadian presence while creating hundreds of jobs.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. says it is increasing RAV4 production at its Woodstock, Ont. assembly plant.
The company now expects to increase its annual capacity to 200,000 vehicles in the facility by early 2013, an increase from a target of 150,000 in 2012.
The company says the $80 million investment will result in about 400 new jobs.
Currently, the plant has about 2,000 workers.
Most of the vehicles made in the plant are shipped to the United States. Sales of the model fell about 7 per cent in the U.S. last year to over 22,000 units, although Toyota said much of this was due to a parts shortage caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
But sales have begun to spring back recently, or at least in this country. Toyota Canada said sales rose 31 per cent year over year in February with 12,384 more Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles sold.
"We are optimistic that the market is coming back and we're grateful for the strong sales of the RAV4 in the North American market, which has created this increase in production and jobs," said TMMC chairman Ray Tanguay said.
Somewhat counterintuitive, the rising cost of gasoline in North America has actually created a flood of new vehicle purchases. In fact, sales of both small and large vehicles are up over the past year because increased fuel-efficiency has made refueling cars of all sizes cheaper.
The average age of a vehicle in the United States is about 11 years old, and cars manufactured today are estimated to be about 30 per cent more fuel efficient. So even as gas prices rise, it is expected that consumers looking to save on fuel will replace their old-gas guzzlers of whatever size for a new model.
Adam Jonas, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, expects U.S. vehicles sales to hit 14.8 million this year, up 15 per cent from 2011.
Toyota, as one of the best-selling automakers in the U.S., expects to take full advantage of the rising sales, and today's production announcement is part of that strategy.
Ontario has seen traditional Detroit Three carmakers — GM, Ford and Chrysler — cut tens of thousands of jobs in the last decade as their parent companies restructured in the United States. But Toyota and Honda have expanded their operations in Ontario, Canada's manufacturing heartland.
The company has already announced plans the first Toyota electric vehicle to be built in North America, the RAV4 EV, would be made in Woodstock beginning this year.
Canada's Minister of Industry Christian Paradis lauded the company, saying the move will help to strengthen Canada's automotive industry.
"Our government welcomes the news of increased production at Toyota's Woodstock plant, and congratulates the company on the success of the RAV 4," he said in a statement.
"Together, Toyota's Canadian plants represent one of the company's largest, most successful manufacturing operations in the world, leading to jobs and growth in those communities and for Canadians."
Toyota began its Canadian operations in 1986 in the southwestern Ontario city of Cambridge.
It currently employs about 6,500 Canadians at two plants in Cambridge and one in Woodstock, where the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix, Toyota RAV4, and the Lexus RX 350 vehicles are manufactured.
With files from The Canadian Press
Ground zero: dozers (top) to take off in the 35-meter bluff site to prepare for the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, this image is taken from the documentary "reimei" ("Dawn") in the late 1960s to the beginning. Left: construction site leveling is seen. Right: see you on the construction site, excavated the area where the emergency diesel generators are installed. THE TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER CO.The first two PartsThe 11. March of the tsunami that hit the quarrels, Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant destroyed in backup of critical system and launched a meltdown of hundreds of fuel rods reactors 1, 2, and 3. Video of the damage and a building explosion tell reactor led to many people on a regular basis — nuclear energy and quake experts — ask: why did not have a safe place for all of the tsunami threats built coastal nuclear power plant?Katsumi Naganuma, 70, a former employee of Tokyo Electric Power Co., in particular, takes the guilt, because he knows that the 35-meter-high bluff was shaved down in the Pacific views to build the plants closer to the surface of the sea, more than 40 years ago.Tepco, on the assumption that the tsunami 3.1 metres should never hit the coast, to reduce the bluff about 25 meters and in renting cultured plant protection products on the ground, only 10 meters above sea level. "When I see the situation now, in my view, wrong to delete so much out of the Hill," said Tepco, Naganuma: local office is preparing for the construction of the n of the 1960s. "If they do not dig down to the ground so much, we could not have suffered from the situation. (Nuclear disaster) had not taken place, "he said.Naganuma, like thousands of other local residents to evacuate his home, are forced to close to a crippled as it continues to the plants to spew radioactive materials.In recent interviews, and the Japan times in the last examination of the documents show it was a decision for Tepco to cut off the bluff, so nuclear complex could be built on a low platform, while leaving it vulnerable to a massive tsunami, such as the one that struck March 11. Another 14 metres of Tepco dug in the basement floors, including turbine-buildings, below the surface to create the emergency diesel generators are installed.The tsunami flooded the compound easily and her power systems, including running a critical nuclear reactor coolant equipment. Meltdowns became inevitable.But Tepco does not blame only one. Such as the add-in, the nuclear regulatory authorities and in the 1960s, the texts of all the youths to seismologists in an earthquake and a massive tsunami hit ever in the plants, documents, and the data-show. "In the past 700 years of Fukushima suffered almost no earthquakes, with the exception of the Aizu region (when the current Fukushima Prefecture), a noteworthy injury "of the application form annexed to the report, in 1966, the Government requests the approval of the first reactor Tepco plant."This site can be described as an area of low seismicity, including relative to other regions of the country concerned, "the paper concluded with a threat of tsunami, hardly stressed.The paper was based on the previous investigation, the Government was approved, and seismologists, who gave the green light to build the reactor. Fukushima factory No 1, designed in the 1960s, the estimated maximum possible tsunami Tepco should only 3.1 m in 2002, however, the following recommendations ... the quake experts at the Japan Society of civil engineering works, Tepco change facilities, including final breakwater, so they could withstand 5.7 meters of the tsunami. This is also recognised by the regulatory authorities.Recent interview with the Japan times, Masatoshi Toyota, 88, former Deputy Executive Director, Tepco, said one add-in to calculate a bluff to build the reactors, the base was directly from the solid bedrock to mitigate the threat of an earthquake.Toyota was a central leader, who has been involved in the Fukushima No. 1 plant.It is actually common practice to build a nuclear power plant facilities directly, is one of the primary bedrock, por más author.Toyoda also cited two reasons for the bluff from the selection in the Tepco — the sea water pumps are used in the coolant water is needed to set up a course of up to 10 metres away from the sea and very heavy equipment, including 500 tons of pressure-reator was assumed that the boat can be brought together.In fact, decided to build the low ground to the Tepco of sea water, pumps operating costs to a cost-benefit calculations are based on plants, two research papers written by leading engineers to Tepco separately in the 1960s.If the sea water pumps was placed on high ground, to their operating costs would be higher accordingly. "Hiroshi Kaburaki, then Deputy head Tepco construction Office, Fukushima No. 1-we decided to build the plants, the plant at ground level when compared to the cost of the building to the ground and the operational costs, which has water pumps, "wrote Suiryoku, a technical journal, Hatsuden power plants of January 1969 version.Tepco still believed at ground level was "sufficiently high enough to secure the safety of the tsunami and Typhoon waves against the" Saeki Seiji wrote, Tepco's construction Office in his study of the book will be published in October 1967, Engineers at Tohoku Electric Power Co., on the other hand, the civil engineering section head was different when the threat of tsunami to turn the Onagawa nuclear power plant was built in the Miyagi Prefectural in the 1980 's.Fukushima, Tohoku built such as the coast and was in the tsunami as high as 13 metres of March 11. before the construction of the Tohoku Electric treatment of the historical records of plants reported to the tsunami region, executed in computer simulations, and is made to the local coast, could face the 9.1 metre tsumani.Tohoku Electric, had been placed under the construction of the ground 14.8 metres above sea-level is — that is unlikely to be spared the Onagawa plant, major accidental damage the meter-high tsunami which the 13 hit in March of., a Former employee of Tepco said many now Naganuma feel, Tepco's long-running propaganda of its nuclear facilities, despite the huge economic benefits, according to the safety of her home town of duped toi Okuma plants that hosts the Fukushima plant No. 1.Before the construction of the coastal area was barren, a little-populated highland dubbed "Fukushima, Tibetan." Most of the time out of the living of the inhabitants of the local agriculture and needed to go off of eked-city of seasonal migrant workers during the winter.But the establishment of permanent jobs, tax revenues and other money to projects in the local economy. "In my view, not because the happier was able to receive a monthly salary of the month, compensation, and to go away from home to work, I didn't, "said Naganuma, adding,", he had never expected (such accidents) would take place. "Naganuma said many local citizens now feel badly betrayed the nuclear plant. "But I think now more and more people in the (national) has been started, the feeling in this way, after 11. in March, "he said.
of Japan, Tokyo, Tokyo, near the high levels of radiation, the ash and identified, the officials said on Tuesday, it can be garden waste contaminated by the disaster, nuclear, Fukushima. Radioactive caesium was discovered in the Prefecture to the Northeast, the plants, Chiba, Tokyo, and about 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the plant, which has leaked radiation, since the March 11 in the quake and the tsunami in the city of Kashiwa. Officials stressed that the radioactive ash collected from late June to early July and the beginning of the concentrations of up to per becquerels was safely contained 70,800 plant, and pose a danger to health in the community.
to July 12, the pinku eiga ", i.e., the pink films in the soft core porn genre has dabbled more in mid-1990s, there only about every theme imaginable, including incest, adultery and Erotic torture-to raise the screen. Yet this year's fantasia "underwater love", "the veteran Director, Shinji Imaoka, pink, probably after the Fading genre interweave singing and dancing in the Numerosarjat political musical, a resource manager, becomes the first film. Screening for foreign correspondents last week in the Japanese Press Club, after the Director of the Commerce that this unique approach, as well as other films, what features of the mythical kappa creature, such as the tortoise shell and the cam, the man is likely to lead to slightly easier the challenging development projects and the specific features of filmgoers (Tokyo Reporter)
popular in Japan, in July, the son of the Japanese destroyer Arashi, the band attract more visitors to the pitch Monday in the middle of the tourist numbers to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Northeastern Japan, exactly four months ago, continuously in the nuclear crisis, the decline in the country., deriving from the Entitled "message to the originating from Japan," featuring five members of the pop idol group, began broadcasting at the same time, the film throughout the world for more than 133 countries and regions, including the use of the Outdoor display is New York's Times Square. The Video material was also broadcast in places such as Seoul and London, and also appears in Japanese airports and embassies worldwide in the coming weeks. (Kyodo)