CINCINNATI, Nov. 16, 2011 — /PRNewswire/ — Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America (TEMA) held its 22nd Opportunity Exchange event at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati today.

Opportunity Exchange, a 1,700 person gathering and one of the largest minority business events in the country, provides minority business enterprises (MBEs) the opportunity to network with Toyota’s direct suppliers. Last year alone, over $60 million worth of contracts were generated as a result.

“Toyota’s effort to support minority business inclusion continues to be a company priority,” said Shigeki Terashi, president and COO of TEMA. “Having a supplier base which reflects the diversity of our customers and team members is at the core of the Toyota Way.”

Toyota was recently recognized as Corporation of the Year by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) for its continued commitment and leadership in supplier diversity. This is the second time Toyota is awarded this honor.

Over the course of two decades, Opportunity Exchange has helped generate new business for MBEs and continues to help direct suppliers diversify their own supply base. These partnerships help add value and innovation to Toyota’s products and services. For more information about Toyota’s supplier diversity program please visit www.toyotasupplier.com.

Diversified Business Systems, a division of Diversified Systems, offers customers valuable business assessments and strategic business planning throughout the business organization to help our clients achieve improved, measurable results in today’s economic climate.