Toyota Material Handling Europe (TMHE), Europe’s leading material handling equipment supplier, offers the widest forklift truck range in the market. The BT Lifter, TMHE´s market-proven hand truck, has recently celebrated another milestone – three million units produced.

BT Lifter no. 3,000,000
Sven Wirenhammar, VP Division Hand Trucks for Toyota Material Handling in Mjölby, Sweden, comments, “I am very pleased to announce that we recently produced hand pallet truck number 3,000,000. It is amazing to be part of something today that has run consistently since 1946. For the last ten years BT Lifters have been produced in accordance with the Toyota Production System (TPS), further enhancing quality and longevity – two of the BT Lifters greatest strengths. Despite the history, the BT Lifter is constantly developing. We have the aim of introducing a new variant of BT Lifter every year, keeping up with our customers’ needs and keeping ahead of our competitors.”

In 1946 BT Industries invented the modern lightweight hand pallet truck. Since then the BT Lifter has become the industry-standard hand truck, transporting every type of goods in countless applications. BT Lifters represent the values of durability and simplicity, with real commercial and environmental benefits. Due to their proven long working life, providing typically five times the number of lifts compared with other types of hand truck, they are today differentiated with the description ‘Long-life hand trucks’.

Because of this the BT Lifter is in increasing demand and the 2.5 millionth BT Lifter was produced as recently as 2005.

The highest quality
The BT Lifter long-life hand truck has long been synonymous with quality, strength, longevity and innovation. Work cycle tests prove that the standard BT Lifter can last up to five times longer than other hand pallet trucks, significantly lowering handling costs over a lifetime of operation. The standard BT Lifter – the LHM230 – comes with a unique lifetime (99-year) functional guarantee on the fork frame – the clearest possible demonstration of TMHE’s commitment to quality.

It also carries the ECO label, demonstrating TMHE’s commitment to minimising the environmental impact of its hand trucks. If one BT Lifter long-life hand truck can work for as long as five low-cost hand pallet trucks, that means only one fifth of the manufacturing processes, one fifth of the distribution processes, and one fifth of the disposal costs, with clear environmental benefits. All BT Lifter long-life trucks are manufactured at TMHE’s dedicated factory in Mjölby, Sweden.

The widest range
With a choice of over 13 models, plus many options, there is a BT Lifter for every application. The BT Heavy Lifter, BT Quick Lifter, BT High Lifter, BT Stainless Lifter and BT Lifter with scale are well-established in many industries and distribution processes, thanks to their specific optimisations. More recently, the BT Pro Lifter has advanced hand pallet truck design, allowing the operator to get the truck moving with a simple pump of the handle.

Two of the latest additions to the BT Lifter range demonstrate how the demands of applications are changing. The BT Lifter Ultra Low was specifically developed to serve the needs of one of TMHE’s key furniture retail clients. It works with low-clearance and disposable pallets, which are increasingly used in shipping containers to maximise space. The BT Lifter Silent is designed for out-of-hours deliveries in residential areas. It operates with a noise level that does not exceed 60 dBA, the same as two people talking.