Toyota Material Handling to combine with sister company
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Toyota Industries Corp. is reorganizing its Columbus-based forklift manufacturing unit, Toyota Material Handling, with a similar operation based in Greene, New York.
Toyota Material Handling and The Raymond Corp. will retain their individual brands but integrate into one company under the name Toyota Material Handling North America, effective April 1.
The company said in a news release that no layoffs will occur at either company following the change.
“This is a historic day for our company, customers, dealers, and associates,” Toyota Material Handling North America Brett Wood said in the news release. “Our customers’ needs are evolving rapidly, and we must prepare and adapt to an ever-changing market. We have an amazing opportunity to leverage the best people, processes, and products into one unified organization. We want to become the undisputed industry leader in solving our customers’ problems through innovation for decades to come.”
Current Toyota Material Handling President and CEO Bill Finerty will retire at the end of March, the company said. Michael Field, the current president and CEO of The Raymond Corp., will become chief operations officer of the new company.
Toyota Material Handling North America produces more than 1,900 forklifts weekly at manufacturing plants in Columbus and East Chicago and in Greene, New York, and Muscatine, Iowa.
The company has more than 16,000 employees combined, but how many people now work at its Indiana operations is unclear. Inside INdiana Business has reached out to Japan-based Toyota Industries Corp. for more information.
Wood said Toyota Material Handling North America plans further investments to accelerate its growth.
“Our goal isn’t to reduce our workforce, but rather to bring together the strengths, resources, and talent from throughout our organizations,” Wood said in the news release. “Together, we will create a more dynamic, more resilient organization. We will continue to invest in the growth and development of all our associates.”
Late last year Toyota Material Handling broke ground on a 295,000-square-foot factory across the street from its existing North American headquarters in Columbus. The nearly $100 million factory will focus on producing electric products and is scheduled to open in 2026, the news release said.
When the project was announced in May, the company told Inside INdiana Business that it planned to add 85 jobs and retain its existing 1,883 workers.
Besides forklifts, Toyota Material Handling makes electric terminal tractors, pallet jacks and stackers, and container handlers.