San Antonio officials consult with city on Toyota

A couple of years ago, Huntsville and San Antonio competed for a 2,000-job Toyota truck plant. San Antonio won that competition, but now they are looking to Huntsville for advice on Toyota and its corporate culture.

Last week, a couple dozen people from the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce visited Huntsville - and Huntsville's Toyota engine plant - to learn how to best welcome Toyota into their community when San Antonio's new Toyota truck plant launches production in 2006.

"It is very important that we understand Toyota's culture, and we want to learn from other communities where Toyota has a presence," said Mike Novak, chairman of San Antonio's chamber. "Even though (the Huntsville plant) is more of a supplier plant, there are still similarities with how a community accommodates and prepares."

He said his fellow visitors have been taking notes on Huntsville's Saturday school for Japanese residents and Toyota's impact on and involvement in the local community.

The visitors also got an education about Huntsville's history and economy. For most, it was a first-time visit. Novak said the group was "impressed with the hospitality, impressed with the sophistication of the business community."

The visitors toured Cummings Research Park and learned that, like San Antonio, Huntsville is working hard to benefit from next year's round of BRAC, or military base realignment and closure.

"We've just got many things in common between our respective communities," Novak said. "Like Huntsville, San Antonio is a military town."

Also, he said, despite the fact that San Antonio's population is about 1.3 million, its airport isn't an airline hub. Officials there - like those here in Huntsville - are working to get more direct passenger flights.

"We have common issues. It's just always healthy to network," he said.

There are differences, of course. The No. 1 economic engine in San Antonio is biotechnology, Novak said. The second-largest driver is tourism, with San Antonio's riverwalk the top tourism destination in the state followed by the Alamo, located in the city.

Novak said he believes Huntsville's plans for a similar riverwalk and extension of Big Spring International Park, is a good idea - another one of those "quality of life" attributes, like less traffic and affordable housing, that make both cities appealing to new residents.

"Companies are looking for quality of life," Novak said. "They want their executives moving into the community, as well as employees they develop locally, to be happy."

Business Editor Gina Hannah can be reached by phone at 532-4531, or e-mail at ginah@htimes.com.