Jeff Rufener

Toyota has announced that the integration process of Toyota Forklift's business units, Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM) and Toyota Material Handling USA (TMHU), announced last year, is officially complete.

The company is now known as Toyota Material Handling, Inc. (TMH).

The move combines Toyota's forklift manufacturing operations with its sales, marketing and distribution functions. The company remains headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, where the Toyota Forklift brand has been manufactured since 1990.

TMH is led by president and CEO Jeff Rufener and senior vice presidents Tony Miller and Bill Finerty.

Toyota has been the top-selling forklift brand since 2002.

"Toyota is more committed than ever to being a complete materials handling solutions provider," Rufener says. "The integration of TIEM and TMHU will allow us to simplify, streamline, and strengthen the entire customer experience. Integrating our teams will improve the flow of information to and from our customers so we can deliver exactly what they need when they need it."

Integrating the two business units is the next step in a process that started in 2014 when TMHU completed a three-year relocation of its headquarters from California to Indiana. The integration process occurred progressively throughout 2019.

"We're already seeing results, and we're just getting started," Rufener adds. "The results have been gratifying in terms of the attitudes of our associates, and also in the tangible improvement and efficiency in our business.

"The world is changing faster every day, and our business has to change with it. Standing still is simply not an option. Combining our companies is another step forward on that journey."