Toyota Material Handling announced a significant expansion to its Columbus, Indiana headquarters during a groundbreaking ceremony. The company – which first began building forklifts in Columbus in 1990 – is investing nearly $100 million for a new 295,000-square-foot manufacturing facility dedicated to producing electric products.
“We are excited about this significant strategic expansion to our Columbus campus,” said Tony Miller, Toyota Material Handling Senior Vice President of Engineering, Operations & Strategic Planning. “At Toyota, we will always be driven by what is best for our customers. Electric products are more popular than ever, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to keep up with increased demand. This new factory will allow us to deliver those electric units to customers faster than we can today.”
The decision to invest an additional $100 million in a new factory underscores Toyota Material Handling’s dedication to advancing sustainable technologies and meeting the evolving needs of its customers. The facility will allow Toyota to leverage cutting-edge manufacturing processes to produce electric products much more quickly than it can today, while meeting the high standard of quality customers expect from Toyota.
“Electric forklifts make up 65% of the North American market and this trend towards electrification in the material handling industry will continue to grow,” said Brett Wood, President & CEO of Toyota Material Handling North America and Senior Executive Officer for Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO).
Including the newest project, Toyota has completed more than 15 total expansions in 34 years, with over $400 million in total investments. When the new factory is complete, Toyota’s Columbus footprint will grow to nearly 1.8m square feet – more than six times larger than the 280,000 square-foot facility it opened in 1990.
