Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) has named the three CEOs who will head up its new warehouse automation business, Toyota Automated Logistics (TAL), when it is formally launched on April 1.

The integrated materials handling entity, announced in November, will see three brands - Vanderlande, Bastian and viastore Group- incorporated under the TAL banner throughout Europe and the US.

Hitoshi Matsuoka will serve as TAL’s CEO - Central, with Thomas Hibinger engaged as TAL’s CEO - EMEA and APAC, and Aaron M Jones as TAL’s CEO - Americas.

Hitoshi Matsuoka holds the current position of executive officer with TICO and is a board member of Toyota Material Handling Europe.

He joined Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd. (now TICO) in 1990, where he was involved in the sales of textile machinery and the materials handling equipment business. Between 2020 and 2025, he served as president of Toyota Automated Logistics North America.

Thomas Hibinger, CEO - EMEA and APAC is currently president and CEO of viastore Group and leads a diverse portfolio of innovative material flow and distribution solutions. 

“Under his strategic leadership, the company provides comprehensive warehouse automation technologies, systems and software to a vast network of more than 3,000 facilities across Europe,” TICO says in a statement.

Aaron M Jones, CEO - Americas is the president and CEO of Bastian Solutions, where he succeeded the company’s founder as president and led the organisation through the transition to become a subsidiary of Toyota Automated Logistics Group.

TICO says the consolidation of the three companies into a focused warehouse automation “enables the delivery of scalable systems, intelligent software, and comprehensive lifecycle services”.

Jones adds: “Intralogistics is increasingly complex and requires a partner with deep expertise and a forward-thinking approach”.

“The launch of TAL supports these needs by drawing on the collective strength of three companies with 285 combined years of logistics experience and a track record of continual innovation for customers no matter where they are in their adoption of automation,” Jones continues. 

“Thomas and I are eager to reshape the logistics arena with TAL’s unified approach to offering its customers one connected solution and a seamless journey.”