Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) is building a new headquarters that will centralise all national support functions for its German subsidiary.
About 160 employees of Toyota Material Handling Deutschland (TMHD) will be accommodated in the 20,000 sqm (215,278 sqft.) site for the new building in Isernhagen, close to Hannover. This is the group's largest investment in a European distributor.
Norman Memminger, interim CEO of TMHD, says the company will concentrate key corporate functions that were previously spread out in Germany. "We will be able to offer our employees a modern, open working environment, in which communication and decision-making will be enhanced."
The architectural plan features a spacious modern office, a large workshop, logistics areas and a place for staff training and product presentations.
Toyota Materials Handling Europe CEO Matthias Fischer says with this investment, TICO is sending a signal that it is investing in Europe's largest market for forklifts, "thus ensuring growth in a highly developed market such as Germany. TMHD plays a key role in our European organisation."
The present headquarters in Langenhagen, including the workshop activities as well as the regional sales activities of the Toyota Stapler Center Nord, will be combined with the central functions of the second company site at Duisburg. To support planned future growth, the workshop's commercial area will be extended by 40%, and the storage area by 25%. "This expansion will be the basis for a more efficient market penetration. We also plan to increase our used and short term rental business, which requires higher capacity," Memminger says.
Sustainability is also an important factor for TMHD. "Concentration of activities at one location and the elimination of internal transport will, on one hand, reduce consumption of energy and fuel; on the other hand, we intend to further reduce our carbon footprint by energy-efficient design and the use of renewable energy," Memminger explains.
Construction of the new headquarters is expected to start in October 2012, once the mandatory municipal approval process is finalised. The move to the new premises is scheduled for November 2013.
 Hans van Leeuwen, TMHE's executive vice president of market operations, receives the award on behalf of his company. |
TMHD emerged from the consolidation of Toyota Gabelstapler Deutschland GmbH and BT Deutschland GmbH in 2007. Since then, TMHD offers BT- and Toyota-branded material handling equipment through a dual sales network with 17 retailers, five Toyota Stapler Centers and six other subsidiaries. Together with the retailer network, more than 1,000 employees work for the company. The factories, which produce for the European and German markets, are located in Ancenis, France; Mjölby, Sweden; and Bologna, Italy.
Separately, TMHE was chosen Employer Branding Company of the Year on 13 March at the Universum Awards 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden.
According to Universum, a global specialist in employer branding that collaborates with TMHE, the forklift company was successful in showing young people the variety of opportunities offered in the organisation, and also highlighting in an exciting way its international opportunities, and the importance of hiring female engineers.