Toyota's new Columbus facility

The Toyota forklift team will invest about USD4.6 million in a 21,400 sqft. (1,988 sqm) office expansion project in Columbus. The funding will go for construction, parking, landscaping and lighting.

As announced in April, Toyota Material Handling USA (TMHU) plans to move its North American headquarters to Columbus from Irvine, California over several years. At that time, TMHU employed 72 associates in Irvine and 53 in Columbus.

The first wave of associates and positions from Irvine moved to Columbus in September. Now, TMHU's parts, service, fleet and customer service departments are housed in existing facilities on the 126 acre Columbus site.

Another entity, Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Inc (TIEM), began operations in Columbus in 1990, employs about 800 and produces the majority of Toyota forklifts sold in North America.

Toyota's Columbus office and manufacturing operations occupy 1,015,843 sqft. (94,000 sqm). Currently, TMHU-related operations occupy about 15,000 sqft. (1,394 sqm) of the office space.

Again, Toyota is using the services of Columbus-based Force Construction Co Inc. The contractor has built more than 90% of the facilities that TIEM and TMHU occupy in Columbus, including a 2005 addition for the TMHU training and customer centre. The new construction will be contiguous to the centre.

Toyota is in the process of working with the joint city of Columbus -Bartholomew county planning department on permits for the project.

Toyota anticipates holding a groundbreaking ceremony in November and completing the project in late 2013 with space for about 93 employees.

In addition to the initial relocations, other TMHU staff moves are planned over the next two years. The new construction and office space expansion will be completed in time for the arrival of those associates.

The management and organisation structure to Toyota Material Handling North America oversees the operations of TMHU, TIEM and Raymond Corp in Greene, New York.