Mark Brazeal has a cool job within a very unique company that is doing things that are unprecedented in the auto manufacturing industry. An Alabama native, Mark started in textile manufacturing before making the switch to automotive manufacturing- first with a Tier-1 supplier and then making the move to Toyota. His career with Toyota now stretches past the 20 year mark and he is bringing his decades of expertise and experience to the first class operation known as Mazda Toyota Manufacturing. Mark takes us through every aspect of the journey for MTM to build their first-of-its-kind facility in Huntsville and the many challenges they faced and, more importantly, how they have overcome them – to include protecting two endangered fish species, endemic to Limestone County. Awesome conversation!
Episode Timeline:
00:00 Start
01:14 Baseball
03:26 Shoutouts to Jessica & Toni
05:07 Brazeal Surname
07:02 Mark w/Toyota High-Level
09:10 Endangered Fish Species
17:58 MTM Major Challenges
20:30 COVID Impact
25:00 Unique Mazda/Toyota Relationship
30:04 Auto Chip Shortage
39:25 Playbook for Challenges
46:14 Tornados
49:12 Career Start in Textiles
53:20 Family Influence
58:00 Teamwork Philosophy
01:01:00 Supplier Pace Challenges
01:07:25 Foreign Company in U.S.
01:13:50 Picture Pack
01:19:18 Buffalo, WV Assignment
01:23:27 Mazda/Toyota Partnership
01:29:15 Coopetition
01:34:54 “Team One” Concept
01:37:17 Game “Put the Pics in Order”
01:44:12 Closing
For more information on Mazda Toyota Manufacturing visit their website at https://mazdatoyota.com
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Host/Interviewer: M. Troy Bye, Owner, Our Town Podcast
Website: www.ourtownpodcast.net
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