Crafted for gold

Filipino craftsmanship took the spotlight as Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) brought home a gold from the 2025 Toyota Asia Pacific Skills Contest in Thailand. The annual competition gathered the region’s best line team members in late August at Toyota Motor Thailand’s Ban Pho Plant in Chachoengsao.

The top honor went to Eduardo Lazo Jr. from TMP’s Manufacturing Division. He ruled the Quality Control Team Leader category, ahead of tough contenders from Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The event tested real shop-floor skills like engine inspection, measurement and fitting checks, torque tightening, and color matching. Lazo’s win adds to a growing track record for the country, marking the fourth gold the company has secured since joining the contest in 2006.

The ASPAC program is more than a trophy chase. It is Toyota’s way of sharpening multi-skill capabilities across its affiliates to keep manufacturing standards high. TMP regularly fields delegates in several categories including Logistics, Maintenance, Painting, Press and Welding. This year’s lineup showed depth, with line team members stepping into pressure-cooker scenarios that mirror daily plant operations.

Lazo has spent 11 years honing his craft at TMP. His patience in training and repeated drills that won him gold shows that Filipino workers thrive when given the tools and trust to lead.

TMP’s investment in people runs alongside investment in production. The company’s plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna, employs more than 2,000 Filipinos on the lines, nearly half of its total workforce. The facility produces vehicles built for local roads and export-level scrutiny.

Backed by a fresh infusion of P5.5 billion, TMP increased direct hires to support expanded production in 2024. Part of that is the newly built TMP Conversion Factory, dedicated to the Tamaraw, which gives the company room to tailor builds for specific needs and speed up delivery.

The ripple effect is wide. Toyota’s local supplier network carries thousands more jobs. Through the Toyota Suppliers Club, around 60,000 Filipinos find work in small and medium enterprises that produce OEM parts, components and body builds. It is a web of shops and factories that feeds the line with everything from stamped panels to wiring looms, keeping production steady and skills in motion.

Wins like Lazo’s are not one-off moments. They are checkpoints on a longer road that runs through training rooms and teamwork every day. TMP keeps raising the bar in-house so that when the region’s best line up again, Filipino talent is right there at the front.