If the production line had been less noisy at Toyota's Burnaston plant near Derby, a collective sigh of relief might have been heard from the men and women adding seats, wheels and bonnets to mainly silver and scarlet body shells.
Before the news came of Toyota's plan to increase production and jobs, the workers had worried for their future.
There are 2,500 of them at Burnaston, all of them known officially as members, all of them with their names on their Toyota uniforms.
"I'm delighted," said quality controller Mark Lawrence, married with two daughters, who joined the company before the first car rolled off the line in 1991. "There has been a lot of uncertainty. So I am pleased to hear the news and very relieved. This should mean security."
Around him production continued, controlled in the Japanese way by kanban, bar coded sheets which ensure that all necessary parts are in the right place; occasionally an andon (message board, literally a lantern) lights up, a tune is played (Greensleeves or something that sounds like Dawn Rises Over Snow-Capped Mount Fuji) and fork-lift trucks or smart bicycles swing into action in response.
Conditions are good, with a series of above-inflation pay deals, healthcare for members and their families and an on-site nursery.
Toyota director Bryan Jackson said it would be wrong to call the new jobs a life saving measure. As new Corollas flowed past him on the track, he said: "But they are part of the survival plan we have in place. We cannot control the exchange rate so we have concentrated on the elements we can control. It is not really new investment, but it will enable us to spread our fixed costs across more vehicles."
Toyota has a single-union deal with the AEEU, whose regional officer, Tony Tinley, was on the production line to welcome the news of further jobs.
"What this shows to our members is a long-term commitment by the company to weather the storm and to continue manufacturing in Europe," he said.
"But it should not be seen by the government as a reason not to worry about the car industry. Ministers should recognise that this is a company prepared to stick it out through thick and thin and they should be prepared to listen to what Toyota and the unions are saying about Europe and the strength of the pound.
"We were fairly confident from day one that the company was here for the long term - Japanese companies take a far longer view of these things than British companies. This announcement gives us some reassurance on that."
