Company Report: Kawasaki Motors
Kawasaki Motors Getting lean and mean is the secret to manufacturing success, according to those at KMM, who combine the best of Japanese and American manufacturing

Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp. USA (KMM) has been in Maryville since 1989, and today the plant employs 780 full time employees, supplemented by another 350 at busy season. It produces around 600,000 engines a year, ranging from six to 38 horsepower, for the kind of vehicles used in horticulture and light agriculture: grass cutters and garden tractors made by recognized brands like John Deere, and the all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) manufactured by KMM's consumer products division about 120 miles away at Lincoln, Nebraska.

The plant runs twelve assembly lines and 42 different machine lines, with over 500 machines. Additionally, there are eight die-casting machines making the cylinder heads, crankcases, generator covers and other strategic components, as well as a certain amount of injection molding machines for fans and fan housings, amongst other things.

Like Toyota, Kawasaki has developed its own lean manufacturing program by the name of KPS

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