Toyota Material Handling set for $100M expansion in Columbus
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Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the new facility would be 650,000 square feet.
Toyota Material Handling will break ground at the end of the month on a nearly $100 million expansion of its headquarters campus in Columbus.
The project involves the construction of a 295,000-square-foot manufacturing facility that will be dedicated to the production of electric products in an effort to support consumer demand.
The company said Friday that the investment will create 85 jobs and retain its existing 1,883 workers.
“We are excited about this significant strategic expansion to our Columbus campus, “Senior Vice President of Operations, Engineering and Strategic Planning Tony Miller said in a statement to Inside INdiana Business. “Electric products are more popular than ever, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to keep up with the increase in demand. This new factory will allow us to deliver those electric units to customers much more quickly than we can today.”
Toyota Material Handling manufactures a variety of industrial equipment, including electric forklifts, internal combustion cushion tire and pneumatic tire forklifts, electric terminal tractors, pallet jacks and stackers, and container handlers.
The new employees are expected to be hired by 2026, and their jobs will come with an average hourly wage of $28.88, Toyota said.
The company has been located in Columbus since 1990, and the expansion will represent a total of $400 million invested in the campus since that time.
Miller said multiple locations were evaluated for the expansion, and it became clear that Columbus was the ideal location for the project.
“We investigated the 10-year growth trend for population and workforce, the capacity and capabilities of tier 1 suppliers in the area, as well as the workforce and land availability to expand operations over the next 20 years,” he said. “We also always consider the cost and ease of doing business a key factor in decisions like this, and the state of Indiana as well as the city of Columbus have a great track record of supporting business and business expansion.”
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.
City and state officials will join Toyota Material Handling executives for a groundbreaking ceremony on May 29. Construction on the new facility is expected to be complete in 2026.