Q&A with Katelyn Niederhaus, member of Conexus’ Rising 30 Class of 2024
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The Conexus Indiana Rising 30 program recognizes outstanding young professionals in advanced manufacturing and logistics who are driving innovation, fostering growth and advancing these industries through inspiration and collaboration. Nominations for the Class of 2025 are now open through Jan. 6.
Katelyn Niederhaus, parts ordering analyst at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, is a member of the Conexus Indiana Rising 30 Class of 2024. She spoke with Inside INdiana Business about her experience at the Gibson County plant and her future in manufacturing.
Tell me about your background before you were hired at Toyota in Princeton.
I’m originally from Michigan. I graduated from Harding University, which is a private christian college in Arkansas. So I’m all over the place—with a degree in broadcast journalism. My first job out of college took me to southern Indiana to be a morning news reporter at a local news station in Evansville.
I learned a lot about different places, events and people around the city when I moved here, but I quickly learned that this was not the career path for me. So it was back to the drawing board, just one year out of college.
Explain your role at Toyota before you got into supply chain management.
After I left the news industry, I was nervous to jump into a brand new career path. I was newly engaged at the time, so I was planning my wedding and genuinely not sure what I wanted to do next. I thought communications would be a good area to start brainstorming since that’s what my degree was in. But nothing was standing out to me.
I saw an ad on Facebook that Toyota Indiana was looking for guest experience, staff and tour guides at the experience center, and I thought that I could give that a shot. I was afraid to lock myself into a totally new career path, but I had to get a new source of income.
I remember when I moved to Evansville, everyone at my church would talk about how great a company Toyota Indiana was, and it stuck out in my mind. The Facebook ad to be a tour guide struck me as something I could do easily while I decided what to do next. I’ve always enjoyed speaking in front of crowds or memorizing speeches, so it made sense to apply for that job.
I worked there for three months before transitioning into my current role. But it was such a good introduction into the plant, what Toyota Indiana produces, what the company stands for and learning all that helped me quickly understand why so many people had mentioned how great of a company it was.
Tell me about your current role at Toyota.
I work in the North American ordering group, and I’ve transitioned from a daily operations role to a project lead.
One of my main responsibilities is a build-out coordinator, where I oversee the countdowns on parts that may change from model year to model year. I conduct some of those counts, investigate and reduce if we have a surplus of parts, and then I work with other groups in the plant to make sure that they’re prepared for the changeover and make sure we know where all our inventory is throughout the plant.
We’ve also had a lot of new members come into our group this year, so I’ve been the lead over training and creating brand new materials for that. I really enjoyed getting to sharpen my presentation skills, analyzing data and collaborating with management on how to make things better with that transition.
What challenges have you experienced in this role?
My most challenging experience was when I worked on night shift right after COVID hit in 2020. I had only been in the group for a little under a year, and we always say in ordering that you don’t know what you’re doing until you’ve been doing it for two years. Like many companies, the supply shortages we faced were a challenge. And you have a smaller crew on nights, so it was myself and another new analyst trying to keep our heads above water.
On nights in ordering, you’re the hotline for all part issues in the plant while you monitor a shared inbox, answer questions from suppliers or carriers and try to keep the plant running. I remember every day walking in feeling like I was ready for a battle. But it was one of the best experiences.
This period challenged me to use my news background by asking questions, investigating, digging deep, working with other people efficiently and connecting with people outside of my immediate group. It helped me understand why this was a field I wanted to keep getting better at and continue growing in this department.
What successes have you experienced in supply chain management?
One of my greatest successes was that night shift experience of learning how to work through challenges and getting so many different things done in a timely fashion. I learned how so many different groups operate at Toyota for us to build vehicles and see things outside my normal scope. Because I chose to do my best on nights during that hard time and push through those hard days, I showed people I was dependable and could keep a positive attitude through it all.
Another success is showing that you can work in manufacturing without having a technical business degree because there are other skills that you can bring to the table. For me, that would be able to communicate well with others, whether it’s in my team, upper management or leading a project. I also enjoy asking questions to take my knowledge a step further and look at the bigger picture instead of what’s inside my normal scope.
One of my most successful projects was using those skills to identify and improve a scrap process. It took me on a journey through the entire plant, from where the parts come into the building and all the way to their final install location. That was neat to make connections in other areas and collaborate with other groups on how we can get better.
Tell me about your involvement in Toyota’s Young Professionals networking committee.
Young Professionals is a business partnering group at Toyota. The mission is to develop future leaders by building relationships, serving the community and engaging with business leaders. I am the networking lead, so I’m in charge of arranging numerous networking opportunities for our members. This has been a good way to make connections with other Toyota Indiana employees outside of the typical groups I work with every day.
How does it feel to be named one of Conexus Indiana’s Rising 30?
I was speechless when I was told Toyota was nominating me for the award. That was flattering, to be recognized by my leadership, that they see me in this way and believe in the impact I’m trying to make here. To then make it into the Rising 30 class was incredible.
When I graduated college six years ago, I would have never imagined I would be thriving in a manufacturing environment and eager to continue learning more about this field. But I’ve latched onto it fairly quickly and have never looked back. It’s encouraging to be a part of this class because I hope young women can hear my journey and consider the manufacturing route.
What’s next in your career?
I see myself staying in production control as I have enjoyed my time in supply chain. I’m interested in pursuing a management position one day, so I’m trying to sharpen the skills I’ve gained from these positions while gaining more knowledge of different areas.
The more you know, the more impact and influence you can make when you can see how different parts work together. Toyota Indiana wants to develop people and learn what you want to accomplish in your career. I’m confident that my management and mentors will help prepare me for the next opportunity that arises.