Columbus expansion a proactive move for Toyota Material Handling
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An executive with Columbus-based Toyota Material Handling says the company’s nearly $100 million expansion follows an analysis of the company’s future over the next decade.
Officials from the company joined Gov. Eric Holcomb on Thursday to break ground on the new 295,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, which is expected to bring 85 new jobs to the campus.
Senior Vice President of Engineering Operations and Strategic Planning Tony Miller said after coming up with a 10-year rolling forecast, the company quickly learned that it needed to prepare itself the next three to four years as the need for electric forklifts continues to increase.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Miller said the electric market is getting strong every year in the material handling industry.
“A lot of companies are focused on ESG initiatives, environmental initiatives and then the catalyst of government initiatives, starting in the state of California,” he said. “In January of 2026, there’s going to be certain forklift models that are internal combustion engine and will no longer be allowed to be sold in that state. And we expect there’s a number of states that are going to follow those state initiatives.”
Toyota Material Handling North America CEO Brett Wood said in written remarks that electric forklifts make up 65% of the North American market.
The growing demand for electric products, particularly forklifts, is due largely to the growing number of e-commerce distribution centers, Miller said. He also noted that automation is a major driver as companies are having a increasingly difficult time finding manual forklift operators.
“But the trade off is not one to one,” he said. “At this point with all of the safety barriers and safety requirements and protocols, the trade off right now is about four or five to one, meaning you need four or five electric automated forklifts to replace one man-on forklift. So that obviously drives a significant amount of volume if more and more customers are looking for automated forklifts.”
Miller said the company evaluated a number of sites for the expansion, including its existing operation in East Chicago and the Noblesville location of its sister company, Bastian Solutions.
But after evaluating factors such as the 10-year growth trend for population and workforce, the Tier 1 supplier base, and available space in all locations, Miller said Columbus stood out as the obvious choice.
Miller also noted the company is confident that it will find the workforce it needs to fill the 85 new jobs by the end of 2026.
The Indiana Economic Development Corp. is offering up to $1.1 million in conditional tax credits and up to $200,000 in training grants. The city of Columbus has also approved real and personal property tax abatement requests that will save Toyota $4.4 million over a 10-year period.
“Indiana has made it a strategic priority to cultivate the economy of the future, and we continue to see impact of our work thanks to the partnership of great companies like Toyota,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a news release. “We’re so grateful to see Toyota continuing to invest heavily in southern Indiana. Toyota’s been a cherished partner and career cultivator to the State for the last 35 years, and we look forward to strengthening our bond even more in the decades to come in and around the Columbus region.
The new facility will grow Toyota Material Handling’s footprint in Columbus to nearly 1.8 million square feet. Construction is slated for completion in 2026.