Roxanne Soto
Production Group Leader,
Assembly
Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Texas, Inc.
A changemaker with 15 years of experience
at Toyota, Assembly Production Group Leader
Roxanne Soto started her Toyota career on the Frame
Side at the age of 25. Since then she has taken the time to grow within the
company and understand Toyota’s mindset and business practices.
“I wanted an opportunity and I saw that in Toyota,” she shares. “I
remember that when they came to San Antonio, there were so many people that
Martha Rodriguez
Production Team Leader,
Paint Pilot
Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Texas, Inc.
With 14 years of experience at Toyota,
Martha Rodriguez is the Production Team
Leader of Paint Pilot at Toyota. In this role, she
prepares the process or the line for the newest model, making sure her
team has the correct tools they need and the training to ensure a smooth
transition from one model to the next model.
applied, and I honestly thought I was not going to get hired, but I was going to
try regardless and it was just a blessing to be chosen.”
Inspired by her daughter to work in a male-dominated field, the
automotive industry, Soto wants to show her daughter and other women that
everything is possible.
“We have no walls or barriers as long as we strive and work hard for what
we want,” she shares. “My greatest accomplishment is to encourage others to
grow. I really want to help develop others and give them the opportunity that I
was given.”
For Soto, bringing a personable approach to the team is important. It is
through this approach that she feels she brings her Latino values to the company.
“I am open for opinions and face to face interactions with my team,” she
shares. “Without them, we can’t build our trucks. They are our heart and soul.”
Soto also credits her success to her support system, which is her family.
Prior to Toyota Rodriguez worked at a credit union and when Toyota
opened in San Antonio in 2006 she thought she had to change her path and
apply for a job at Toyota.
“When I applied online and got hired I wasn’t sure what I would be doing,”
she shares. “Luckily with Toyota, they train you and teach you, so it was a very
good experience working here.”
Today she is grateful for the support, encouragement, and mentorship
from many peers and leaders.
“After 6 months I was encouraged to be a team leader,” she shares. “The
push on helping develop me led me to the path that I am on.”For Rodriguez,
the best part of working for Toyota are the people and having to work with so
much talent. Born in San Antonio, TX, her goal is to work for Toyota for 30
years or as long as she can.
“My aspiration is to help build a better vehicle for the customer while
helping the team member on the line have a smooth transition from model to
model,” she adds.
Rosa Santana
Founder and Chief Executive
Officer
Santana Group and Forma
Automotive
The first and only Hispanic-woman-owned
direct tier 1 supplier to Toyota, Rosa Santana is
the founder and CEO of Forma Automotive, which
provides fully assembled truck beds to Toyota, and the Santana Group, a group
of companies providing transformational outsourcing solutions to organizations
across all industries.
Renowned for her efforts as a trailblazer, she has embraced her Hispanic
and woman-owned business distinctions and strives to empower other women
through serving on local, regional, and national boards, including the United
States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) as a board and executive
board member, the Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) on the board of
directors, and the Women’s Business Council Southwest as a board member.
For over 39 years, Santana has been a driving force within the
U.S./Mexico staffing industry and is recognized internationally as an
outsourcing solutions expert. Today, Forma Automotive is also performing
assembly work across the border, specifically in Guanajuato, Mexico. And,
although she has been doing business in Mexico for over 30 years, she had
never operated a manufacturing company as she is doing today.
“Going into manufacturing work is different,” she shares. “There was a lot
we had to learn before we got there, but we now have a full operation under
Toyota’s roof, and we are doing well with providing fully assembled truck beds
for them while ensuring we attract and retain skilled team members.”
According to Santana, one of the advantages that Forma Automotive has
as a supplier is its sister company, Integrated Human Capital, which provides
staffing solutions to businesses in the U.S. Pairing staffing with manufacturing,
she can deliver the talent necessary to build high-quality products for her
customers.
“We are very excited and very grateful for the opportunity,” she states.
“More importantly it has allowed us to diversify and grow our group of
companies, and we’re very proud of the continued growth.”
14 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle V ol. 26, No. 5, 2020
/www.latinastyle.com
