BT's Mjölby site will host today's celebrations

Toyota Material Handling Europe today celebrates BT´s rich history with a special event in Mjölby, Sweden.

The celebration includes the opening of the BT Museum, which commemorates BT's history and legacy.

BT has been a forerunner in quality and innovation, racking up a number of key developments including the invention of the Europallet, the first European standardised pallet; the hydraulic hand pallet truck designed by Rune Monö; the first driverless trucks in the '70s; and the reach truck with tiltable cabin in 1992.

The highlight of today's event will be the inauguration of the new test and verification centre, where various tests of advanced materials and logistics solutions, such as automation and IoT (internet of things), will be conducted. This will help the company to secure the quality of the products and also to continuously explore new materials and technology to meet customer needs.

"By celebrating BT's 70-year anniversary with this event, we show how we cherish the values and qualities from BT, while still striving to be innovative as Toyota Material Handling," says Matthias Fischer, president and CEO, Toyota Material Handling Europe. "It is important to learn from our history to plan for the future. It allows us to build up our culture and have, to name an example, a close collaboration with our customers and suppliers that characterise both BT and Toyota."

"The way we move goods will change according to the needs of the customers, and we need to be prepared."

The BT Museum not only shows the rich history of innovations by BT, but also the new thinking towards the future by Toyota Material Handling. The museum will function as a living museum with continuous improvements according to the Kaizen principle.

The celebration will continue with a campaign of limited edition reach trucks. From August until December, the BT Reflex RRE models produced by Toyota Material Handling will display a specially designed BT badge. In addition, all these reach trucks will be supplied with Toyota I_Site for free during the first six months, allowing customers to experience the benefits of Smart Dynamics, such as safety, energy and cost-efficiency.

Sweden's BT was acquired by TICO in 2000.