Impact Handling wins GBP3.7 million contract with Polypipe.

There don't appear to be any hard feelings after Toyota terminated its relationship with former UK dealer, Impact.

While Impact Handling's managing director, Terry Kendrew, declined to comment for this article, his firm does have commercial links with other forklift brands.

Kendrew was contacted after Forkliftaction.com News recently reported Toyota Industrial Equipment UK (TIEUK) had terminated its relationship with its dealer for the North, Midlands and East of England regions (Forkliftaction.com News #320).

TIEUK's former dealer Impact Toyota, has since changed its name to Impact Handling.

A 10 January article on Transport News Network online news site described Impact as UK's fastest growing Toyota forklift distributor.

Impact was established in Hull, UK, in 1985 as a Toyota distributor. South African Toyota distributor and transport group Imperial Holdings acquired it for GBP16 million (USD32.6 million) in 2000. In 2005, Impact achieved a milestone of selling 6,000 new Toyota forklifts and in 2006, it reached 111% of its target for Toyota sales. A recent Plimsoll report said Impact was ranked 23rd fastest growing UK forklift company in terms of annual sales growth.

Impact Handling's website says it now supplies Toyota forklifts, Kalmar forklifts and tow tractors, and Lancer side loaders.

Headquartered in Nottingham with locations in Hull, Immingham, Doncaster, Ipswich and Corby, the company says in a press release titled "the road ahead" it was moving from a distributor of solely Toyota equipment to one that "can supply any requirement, without being tied to one manufacturer".

In other press releases, the company says it now offers more choice, flexibility and covered the whole of the UK. Impact also boasts of the financial backing of its parent company.

Imperial Holdings' group revenue was ZAR54.1 billion (USD7.7 billion), up 27% from the previous year's ZAR42.6 billion (USD6.07 billion) for the financial year ended June 30, 2006. Its operating profit for fiscal 2006 was ZAR4.5 billion (USD640.8 million).

While Kendrew declined to comment on the Toyota situation, he was keen to stress that this is "an important time for the company as it evolves".
Impact Handling announced on its website it has recently won a five-year full contract hire deal worth over GBP3.7 million (USD7.5 million) to supply plastic pipe system maker Polypipe's materials handling needs at its 13 UK sites.

Another dealer Forkliftaction.com News contacted says the company had received instructions from the manufacturer not to comment to the media.

There are 10 Toyota dealers in the UK, three are wholly-owned by Toyota. Emails to four of the dealers - Anker Fork Lift Trucks Ltd, FTM Ltd, Truckmasters Ltd and Groundwater Lift Trucks Ltd - were unanswered before Forkliftaction.com News went to press.