Toyota Material Handling, The Raymond Corp. to Merge

Toyota Material Handling and The Raymond Corp. will formally become one company under the name Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA), effective April 1.

Toyota acquired The Raymond Corp. in 2001. This unification will allow TMHNA to leverage the unique strengths of both organizations to be more efficient for the benefit of both Toyota and Raymond customers.

The organization will integrate both the Toyota and Raymond president responsibilities into TMHNA, which will be led by president and CEO Brett Wood. Wood, a respected leader in the material handling industry, also serves as a senior executive officer for TMHNA’s parent company Toyota Industries Corp. (TICO).

“This is a historic day for our company, customers, dealers, and associates,” Wood said. “Our customers’ needs are evolving rapidly, and we must prepare and adapt to an ever-changing market. We have an amazing opportunity to leverage the best people, processes, and products into one unified organization. We want to become the undisputed industry leader in solving our customers’ problems through innovation for decades to come.”

Current Toyota Material Handling president and CEO Bill Finerty will formally retire at the end of March. Michael Field, the current president and CEO of The Raymond Corp., will become TMHNA’s COO.

This integration will not result in layoffs. In fact, TMHNA plans to invest even more in its people to accelerate growth. One in three forklifts sold in North America is either a Toyota or Raymond product.

TMHNA builds its products at four main manufacturing plants in Columbus, Indiana; Greene, New York; Muscatine, Iowa; and East Chicago, Indiana (Toyota Heavy Duty Division). Late last year, the company broke ground on a new 295,000 square-foot factory across the street from its existing North American headquarters in Columbus. The new factory, which will focus specifically on producing electric products to drive down lead times, is scheduled to open in 2026.

To optimize manufacturing processes, a $50 million investment to building, infrastructure and equipment elevated operations in Greene, New York, and Muscatine, Iowa manufacturing facilities.