Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) has celebrated 50 years of forklift sales with a gala function in Sydney
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(L-R) Steve Takacs, president & CEO, TMHA Australia, Tom Nakazawa, TMHA chairman and Toshifumi Onishi, senior managing officer, TICO
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Toyota sold its first forklift in Australia in 1968 and the company says it now holds almost 40 per cent of the Australian market.
The milestone was celebrated with a function at Sydney’s Shangri-La Hotel hosted by television personality Kerri-Anne Kennerley and was attended by senior Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) executives, THMA management, Japan’s consul-general in Sydney Keizo Takawaka, major fleet customers and guests.
The event also featured performances from singer Christine Anu and guest presentations from sleep expert Dr Carmel Harrington and form Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath.
THMA chairman Tom Nakazawa spoke at the event and said Australia is an important player globally for TICO and holds the number eight position globally for Toyota forklift sales.
“This is an outstanding achievement, considering the smaller population in Australia compared to the many countries it has outranked,” Nakazawa says.
TMHA now has 16 branches and 750 staff across Australia, the majority in product support roles and intends to increase expansion, including a new branch recently opened in Toowoomba.
THMA has added numerous products to its lineup over the years, with the most recent being industrial sweepers and scrubbers, along with another Toyota brand – Aichi scissor lifts.
In terms of the overall material-handling market, TMHA sees continued expansion in the driverless forklift range and automation markets.