Toyota was looking for a steady hand to oversee the $1.4-billion investment in its Woodstock and Cambridge, Ont., plants, and they found it in a seasoned veteran and Canadian, Fred Volf.

Volf, 59, is preparing the Cambridge factory for the shift of the Corolla compact car to a Toyota plant in the United States and its replacement with the RAV4 utility vehicle. He is also overseeing updates to the Woodstock plant for the redesigned RAV4 model, which is being assembled on the automaker’s new global platform. 

Volf joined Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) in 1987 as a facilities engineer. In 2012, he was named Canada’s vice president of manufacturing before taking a stint in Mississippi. In 2015, he returned to lead TMMC. 

The plants Volf leads employ more than 8,000 hourly workers and remain among Canada’s Top 100 employers and repeatedly win quality awards from J.D. Power and Associates.