Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) invests in a new German headquarters: the world’s leading provider of material handling equipment announces today the construction of the new building centralising all national support functions for its German subsidiary located in Isernhagen, close to Hannover. 160 employees of Toyota Material Handling Deutschland (TMHD) will be accommodated in an area of more than 20,000 m³ in the future. This is the Group’s largest investment in a European distributor to date.
  
The architectural plan features a spacious modern office, a large workshop, logistics areas and a place for staff training and product presentations. “By this investment, TICO sets a signal: it invests in Europe’s largest market for forklift trucks, thus ensuring growth in a highly developed market such as Germany. TMHD plays a key role in our European organisation”, says President and CEO of TMHE, Matthias Fischer.
 
“With the building of this new location, we concentrate forces and central key corporate functions that were previously spread nationwide. We will be able to offer our employees a modern, open working environment, in which communication and decision-making will be enhanced”, says interim CEO of TMHD, Norman Memminger.

The present headquarters in Langenhagen (Hannover region) 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 (Northrine-Westphalia). To support planned future growth, the commercial area for the workshop will be extended by 40% and the storage areas 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”, says Memminger.

Sustainability aspects also play an important role 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”, says Norman Memminger.

The works are 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.