Teijin Automotive Technologies Produce Pickup Box for Next Generation Toyota Tundra

2022 was a year packed with #innovation when it came to #sustainable solutions for Teijin: and an area which is constantly in the spotlight is the automotive industry.

In June, Teijin Automotive Technologies announced it was manufacturing the pickup boxes for the next generation 2022 Toyota Tundra Pickup truck. These boxes are being produced at our new facility in Seguin, Texas, USA.

The Tundra pickup box is molded in one piece using one of Teijin’s proprietary #composite formulations. The box is available in three lengths – 5.5 feet, 6.5 feet and 8 feet 1 inch – as well as boasting optional lighting features. Furthermore, Teijin’s composite technology is being used to produce the tailgate covers, which will be assembled onto boxes and D-pillar prior to shipment to Toyota’s manufacturing facility in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Full production on the pickup box began in November 2021.

The forward thinking molding and assembly process used by the team at Seguin closely resembles that used at our facility in Tijuana, Mexico. This plant has been manufacturing the pickup boxes for the Toyota Tacoma for nearly 20 years. Since the start of production, we have produced over 2 million composite pickup boxes for the program.

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“The opportunity to produce the pickup box for the highly-anticipated next generation Tundra is something we were honored and excited to get,” explained Steve Rooney, then-CEO of Teijin Automotive Technologies and general manager of Teijin’s Composites Business Unit. “We have been providing exceptional quality and on-time delivery to Toyota out of our Tijuana facility for more than 17 years. This new program will enable us to further solidify our relationship with this important customer and at the same time showcase the incredible qualities composites offer for pickup boxes and other applications.”

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Composite pickup boxes offer end-consumers superior durability, because they don’t dent or rust, and eliminate the need for a bedliner, thus saving weight and creating a more #sustainable solution.

?As part of our commitment to creating hubs of #innovation around the world, construction started on the 200,000 square-foot Seguin, Texas, facility in 2019. The Seguin facility now includes fully-automated production cells and a number of large compression molding presses – including a 5,200-ton press – the largest such press west of the Mississippi River in the United States. The facility also features a topcoat paint line, and automated bonding and trimming cells. It employs approximately 200 people in engineering, administrative and production positions.

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