There’s a lot of ground to cover at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc.’s Georgetown plant—more than 8 million square feet under roof, or the equivalent of about 170 football fields. Visitors will be relieved to hear, then, that the general tour isn’t a walking tour. After guests watch a short video about the company’s operations, a motorized tram zips them safely from one area to another. Along the way they get a firsthand look at human workers and robots fabricating enormous rolls of steel into parts. In several areas, humans and machines work together, with the machines doing the heavy lifting as humans guide components into place for assembly.
Toyota’s Georgetown plant, which produces 2,000 vehicles per day like the Camry and Avalon, is the nation’s first and the world’s largest Toyota manufacturing facility. The first vehicle here rolled off the line in 1988, with tours added a couple years later. About 35,000 visitors tour the plant annually, which begs the question: With all of that large-scale production happening and hundreds of employees working every day, why open up your manufacturing facility to tens of thousands of visitors?
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky uses trams to show guests around its more than 8-million-square-foot plant in Georgetown.
Rick Hesterberg, manager of external affairs, sees two key advantages for the Georgetown Toyota plant to open its doors to the public. Visiting school groups provide students a firsthand look at the types of careers available there, he said, and tours also build brand awareness and spotlight the craftsmanship of team members to those considering buying a new vehicle.
During tours, some preconceptions will also likely change about what auto manufacturing entails, he said. The company’s Environmental Education Center Tour, for example, educates students on how manufacturing can reduce its impact on the environment, and how Toyota strives to protect and conserve natural resources. “This is what advanced manufacturing looks like today,” Hesterberg said. “It’s very different than it was 30 years ago.” Stay tuned: Hesterberg said a newly streamlined visitor registration process will also be unveiled soon.
Pour on the fun
Other Central Kentucky plants also offer a glimpse behind the curtains of their operations for little or no cost, including Ale-8-One in Winchester. Ale-8-One debuted in 1926 at the Clark County Fair and is today overseen by founder G.L. Wainscott’s great-great-nephew, Fielding Rogers, in a manufacturing plant that company has occupied since 1966. Fielding “still mixes up every batch of the secret formula by hand … and he still has his great-great uncle’s handwritten notes,” said marketing manager DeAnne Elmore.
Visitors to Ale-8-One’s facility in Georgetown see various parts of the production process. They can also enjoy a free Ale-8 as part of the tour.
Typical tour guests include school groups, church groups, professional tour groups and individuals, with Memorial Day to Labor Day being the busiest season. Elmore said the free tours, which Ale-8 has offered for about 15 years, pair video footage and archival materials with firsthand views of some the plant’s operations, within the guidelines of both health and OSHA regulations.
For Ale-8, the decision to offer factory tours goes hand-in-hand with its fun, accessible brand image and also helps reinforce its reputation as “Kentucky’s soft drink”—especially since guests can enjoy a free, freshly filled longneck bottle of Ale-8-One at the end of the tour. “It’s celebrating life’s simple pleasures, and that creates brand loyalty for us,” Elmore said. “It also champions the state, which we love. Without the loyalty from Kentuckians, we wouldn’t be as strong of a brand as we are.”
Elmore said the costs associated with the salaries of dedicated tour guides and all those free sodas are somewhat offset by gift-shop purchases, but overall they are an investment in the brand’s business goals and image.
Distilling the experience
Buffalo Trace Distillery, the oldest continuously operating distillery in America, offers several free, themed tours in addition to its general guided tour, called the Trace Tour. Visitors view an informational video, enter barrel houses where bourbon is aged and see other production areas before enjoying an opportunity to taste the product for themselves in the Buffalo Trace gift shop (ages 21 and older only with a valid ID, of course). Buffalo Trace also offers a Hard Hat Tour, National Historic Landmark Tour, Bourbon Barrel Tour and Ghost Tours, each lasting about an hour and including a complimentary tasting.
“We believe home places are a strong driver for building brand loyalty, and we love showing our visitors every day the passion and enthusiasm our team has for Buffalo Trace Distillery,” said spokesperson Amy Preske. “We hope when our guests return home, they will remember the stories we shared and have fond memories of their time spent with us.”
Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort offers a variety of free tours to educate guests on how the company makes its products.
In the past fiscal year, visitors from all 50 states and 20 countries have visited Buffalo Trace, Preske said. Safety is a top priority. The distillery employs a full-time safety coordinator and security staff. Tour guides also routinely walk tour routes before welcoming guests.
Not every plant is set up for hosting or is able to offer public tours. The JIF Plant (J.M. Smucker Company) on Winchester Road, for example, decided against offering tours primarily for safety and food safety regulations. “Additionally, there are proprietary manufacturing techniques and equipment that could inadvertently be made public,” said spokesperson Frank Cirillo.
Having a (bourbon) ball
Rebecca Ruth Candy Tours & Museum in Frankfort—which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year—has opened its candy factory up for tours for about 15 years. Guests begin by watching a video about the origins of chocolate and how it’s made. They then tour the kitchen and factory areas and watch workers on the line apply finishing touches to candies and box the finished products. Lines on the floor denote boundaries guests can’t cross for sanitation and safety reasons, and photos and video aren’t allowed in some areas. After that comes the museum room, with historical artifacts and displays. The company touts itself as the creator of the Kentucky bourbon ball candy confection.
“In the summertime, we get people from all over the world just to take the tour and try the famous bourbon ball,” said Emily Noonan, retail manager and tour coordinator. If the free sample at the end of the tour isn’t enough, Rebecca Ruth’s gift shop sells about 50 varieties of candies that visitors can mix and match to make their own customized boxed assortment, as well as logo items such as keychains. “It not only builds brand loyalty but kids love it!” Noonan said of the experience.
Plan your plant tour
Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Kentucky, Inc., Georgetown
1001 Cherry Blossom Way,
Georgetown, KY 40324
www.toyotaky.com or call
(800) 866-4485. Free.
Ale-8-One, Winchester
25 Carol Road, Winchester, KY 40391
www.ale8one.com for online
registration and calendar with tour availability and FAQs or call
(859) 744-3484. Free.
Buffalo Trace Distillery
113 Great Buffalo Trace
Frankfort, KY 40601
www.buffalotracedistillery.com
or call (800) 654-8471. Free.
Rebecca Ruth Candy
Tours & Museum
116 E. Second St., Frankfort, KY 40601
www.rebeccaruthonline.com
Email tours@rebeccaruth.com, or call
502-223-8484. $5 per person,
children 5 and younger free.