TOYOTA MARKS PRODUCTION OF 250,000TH LIFT TRUCK

Toyota celebrated the production of its 250,000th lift truck today at the Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM) plant in Columbus, Ind. Toyota is the leading supplier of lift trucks in Canada, the United States and worldwide, with the majority of lift trucks sold in Canada manufactured at the Columbus facility.

Toyota executives including Sonny Toyoda, president of TIEM; Tatsuo Matsuura, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Toyota Material Handling Group; Shankar Basu, president and CEO of Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., Inc. (TMHU); Rob Reinders, Director, Toyota Canada Industrial Equipment Division, along with several TIEM and TMHU associates participated in the ceremony.

The first lift truck rolled off the line at the Columbus facility in 1990. Since then, the plant has grown six-fold from its initial employment to nearly 800 TIEM associates, increased production more than 10-fold and tripled in physical size. The 250,000th lift truck was a four-wheeled internal combustion cushion tire model.

"Toyota remains committed to serving the North American market," said Shankar Basu, TMHU president and CEO. "We thank our customers, dealers and associates who have helped Toyota achieve this important milestone. We look forward to working together to celebrate the 500,000th lift truck."

"We are extremely proud of the excellence in manufacturing at the TIEM plant in Columbus because this translates into a superior product for our customers," said Rob Reinders, Director, Toyota Canada Industrial Equipment Division. "Our close ties to TIEM not only mean that we are a part of its success, but also that we can link our customers to this world-class facility."