A new materials handling entity will come into existence on April 1 when Toyota Material Handling and the Raymond Corporation begin operating under the same banner of Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA).

Toyota acquired the Raymond Corporation in 2001 and both continued to be led by separate presidents. The new unified company will be led by president and CEO Brett Wood, who also serves as a senior executive officer for TMHNA’s parent company Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO).

Current Toyota Material Handling president and CEO Bill Finerty will retire at the end of March while Raymond Corporation’s incumbent president and CEO Michael Field will take up the role of TMHNA’s chief operations officer.

TMHNA says there will be no job losses under the amalgamation of the two businesses and both will continue to maintain their unique brand identities in the market.

Wood says the unification of the two companies allows TMHNA to “prepare and adapt to an ever-changing market”.

“We have an amazing opportunity to leverage the best people, processes, and products into one unified organisation,” he adds.

“Our goal isn’t to reduce our workforce, but rather to bring together the strengths, resources, and talent from throughout our organisations.

“Together, we will create a more dynamic, more resilient organisation. We will continue to invest in the growth and development of all our associates.”

The combined TMHNA business will have four manufacturing plants in North America - two in Indiana, one in New York and another in Iowa, combined covering 2.5 million sqft. (232,258 sqm) of manufacturing space, producing more than 1,900 forklifts weekly.

The combined annual revenue of both companies is more than USD6 billion from a network of more than 16,000 staff and almost 300 dealers.