IR4TD's history is traced back to the late ’80s when Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky (TMMK), the first Toyota plant in America, opened in Georgetown. Our founding director, Dr. Kozo Saito, and Mr. Fujio Cho, who was the president of the Toyota Georgetown plant, met and built up their long friendship. Dr. Saito and Mr. Cho's friendship became a crucial part of the partnership between the University of Kentucky and Toyota. Mr. Cho’s leadership led to the formation of the Lean Systems Program (LSP) in 1994. In 2007, the “Institute of Research for Technology Development” was established from the generous donations of Toyota, which the Research Challenge Trust Fund matched. Dr. Kozo Saito was named the first director of the IR4TD. Later, the LSP merged with IR4TD in 2010. The LSP program launched the Lean Graduate Certificate a year later.
The University of Kentucky College of Engineering created the Production Engineering Certificate program in 2016 and “Lift Them UP” in 2018 with support from Toyota. In 2020, Toyota pledged to support the newest department in the College of Engineering, the Department of Engineering Technology, and pledged scholarships to support students in the department. Our director, Dr. Nelson Akafuah, is the backbone of these programs and currently holds a director position.