Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA) has opened a new US$100m (c. £74m) manufacturing facility in Columbus, Indiana, to produce electric forklifts for its Toyota and Raymond brands.
The 295,000ft² factory increases TMHNA’s total manufacturing footprint in Columbus to 1.9 million ft² and represents the company’s largest investment to date in manufacturing capacity expansion.
Construction of the facility began in June 2024, with production starting in July 2026, ahead of the facility’s official opening on 5 August.
TMHNA said the expansion, which created 140 new jobs, will provide additional capacity to meet growing demand for electric materials handling equipment. Around 70% of the North American forklift market is currently electric, according to the company, with this share expected to reach 80% before 2035.
Brett Wood, president and CEO of TMHNA, said: “in 2023, 66% of all lift trucks sold in North America were electric powered…The electric forklift demand is likely to reach 80% before 2035, and our new factory is poised to address this electrification trend.”
The facility’s initial product is an electric Class 1 Stand-Up Counterbalanced Forklift, production of which has been transferred from TMHNA’s Greene, New York, factory. The move will allow the Greene operation to increase its focus on reach trucks, order pickers and automation, while Columbus expands counterbalance forklift production.
The new factory combines automated processes with manual assembly and has been designed with flexible manufacturing lines that can be expanded as demand changes.
It also incorporates a zero-VOC powder coating process and has been designed to accommodate rooftop solar in the future.