Year-Long Company Giving Programs, Holiday Food Drive Help Local Communities

IRVINE, Calif. (Dec. 20, 2010) – Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (TMHU) the nation’s leading forklift supplier, today announced that as a result of its associate giving programs, a half-ton of food and goods will be donated to Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, along with food banks and philanthropies in the communities where Toyota associates live and work.

"Toyota associates in Columbus, Ind., and Irvine, Calif., have responded generously to our various corporate giving programs," said Brett Wood, president of TMHU. "As a result, the donations raised will provide food and essentials to many in need this holiday season."

Toyota has long supported associate giving programs, food bank and community-related contributions. At the beginning of 2010 in an effort to build associate morale and community support, the company created its "Denim for Dollars" program. Each month a national nonprofit organization is chosen to receive donations from TMHU’s associates. In exchange for a minimum $5 donation per participant, TMHU’s associates are eligible to wear jeans to work on the last Friday of the month. As a result of the year-long program, TMHU associates raised $4,000.

The benefiting charities include:

American Red Cross: Haiti Relief and Development Effort
Habitat for Humanity
National Arbor Day Foundation
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America
Homes for Our Troops
The Humane Society of the United States
Farm Aid
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Feeding America
Make-a-Wish Foundation of America
In addition to the "Denim for Dollars" program, TMHU held company-wide toy and food drives, which resulted in associates collecting 800 pounds of food to provide 613 meals to those in need at the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Calif., 338 pounds of food, equating to roughly 260 meals, and monetary donations to benefit the Love Chapel of Columbus, Ind., and nearly 100 toys to benefit Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

 
Also, continuing in the company tradition, in lieu of printing holiday cards, Toyota will make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, an organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Hannah Howie, granddaughter of TMHU associate Cary Howie, is the winner of the company electronic holiday card contest. Howie’s coloring rendition of a Toyota lift truck helping deliver a holiday tree to a festive snowman is featured in the company’s holiday card, distributed nationwide to its customers, suppliers and associates.

About Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc.
Celebrating more than 40 years of established operations in the United States, Irvine, Calif.-based Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc., (TMHU) has been the No. 1 selling lift truck supplier in the U.S. since 2002. In addition to the full line of high-quality lift trucks sold under the Toyota brand, the company’s extended industrial equipment solutions include: Aichi aerial work lifts—scissor lifts, crawler and wheeled boom lifts—Automated Guided Vehicles, and electric and diesel tow tractors.

Quality is the hallmark of the Toyota Production System practiced at all Toyota manufacturing facilities, including Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg., Inc. (TIEM). Most of the Toyota lift trucks sold in the United States are manufactured at TIEM, a zero-landfill facility, in Columbus, Ind.

TIEM is a member of the National Safety Council, complies with the ISO 14001 standard from the International Organization for Standardization, and has been honored for its environmental management systems and dedication to continuous improvement.

Toyota’s commitment to excellence in customer service extends nationwide. Sixty-eight authorized Toyota Industrial Equipment dealers, with a total of 188 dealership locations throughout the United States, offer comprehensive customer service and support, including one-stop shopping for both new and used lift trucks, rentals, parts and service, fleet servicing and financing.