Positive vibes

at Toyota

ur Autocar-Courland

Next Generation

Award winner Lewis

Campbell has moved

on to his third car

manufacturer placement following

an unforgettable time spent with

McLaren and Nissan. At Toyota,

the value of this award and the depth

of t he e x p e r ie nc e he i s ga i n i n g h av e

once again been striking for a young

man who is determined to make his

way in the automotive industry.

How e v e r, it h a s a c t u a l l y b e e n

Toy ot a’s U K he a d of f ic e i n Ep s om

where the mechanical engineering

student has spent most of his time

a s pa r t of w i n n i n g t he Ne x t

Generation Award.

“ W h i le I ’ v e b e e n at Toy ot a , i n a

si m i l a r v e i n t o t h at of Ni s s a n a nd

Mc L a r e n , I ’ v e b e e n w ork i n g on s ome

fairly independent projects. I’ve been

looking at some very interesting

areas related to efficiency in supply

chains and consumer experience.”

As a self-confessed petrolhead,

Campbell admits he likes to get his

hands dirty, so spending time in

the office has provided different

challenges from those he’s used to.

“It ’s b e e n n ic e t o do mor e of a

research and office-based role for

a change and really get a sense of

a larger scope of the industry as a

w hole ,” he s ay s. “I l i k e t o ge t my

h a nd s on t h i n gs but , at t he e nd of t he

day, you’ve got to put in the hours at

the desk to reap the rewards on the

road and in the market.”

Sworn to secrecy, Campbell

tentatively tells us as much as he

can about the specifics of his tasks

without giving too much away. He

Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award winner Lewis

Ca mpbel l is spend i ng t i me at Toyota’s U K head offi ce and its

buzzing Burnaston factory. Harry Roberts fi nds out more

PHOTOGR A PHY TEJ BHOLA

O

Campbell’s Toyota co-workers were impressed by his thoughtful, positive approach

We pa id a v i sit t o me e t up w it h

Campbell at Toyota’s Burnaston

factory in Derby, which is where the

new Corolla and Corolla Touring

Sport models are created.

“It’s been incredible,” he says,

g r i n n i n g a s w e sit dow n for ou r

monthly catch-up. “I’ve only been

here at the factory for a few days,

but I’m already starting to get an

appreciation for the scope of what

goes on and the positivity shared

between everyone that works here.”

Standing on 580 acres, the plant

houses more than 2500 employees,

has its own test track and deals with

everything from the pressing of body

panels to vehicle assembly. Campbell

began his placement by getting a

f u l l t ou r of t he f a c i l it y a nd , ju s t a fe w

hours after our chat, is due a few laps

around the track.

“It never gets old,” says Campbell,

b e a m i n g w he n he r e f le c t s on h i s

first impressions of the plant.

“Although a lot of the things are

the same between Toyota, Nissan

and McLaren, every factory is slightly

different and it’s really interesting

to see how the production engineers

c ome up w it h ne w s olut ion s t o t he

same problems. As an engineer,

this factory is like a playground.”

Nerys Fowler, learning and

development section manager at

Bu r n a s t on , s ay s du r i n g h i s t i me

at the factory, Campbell has already

made a positive impression.

“He has an extremely positive

at t it ude a nd a sk s r e a l l y go o d

questions,” she says. “Lewis was

keen to learn and gave us some

good feedback about his observations

and learning.”