Formalised on 1st April, intralogistics businesses Vanderlande, Viastore and Bastian Solutions united into a new brand – Toyota Automated Logistics (TAL). David Priestman spoke with EMEA CEO Thomas Hibinger (main picture) at LogiMAT.
Scale isn’t everything in business, but it certainly carries advantages when you have the backing and resources of a power brand. What happens when you combine a major materials handling and automation business with a warehouse management software and miniload/stacker crane specialist, under the umbrella of the world’s largest forklift supplier? The answer, in Europe, is that the viastore team, based in Stuttgart, are taking the lead in the new organisation. “One family, with three P&Ls now united,” Hibinger tells me.
Vanderlande’s baggage handling and parcel business will continue as a separate entity, but its renowned warehousing systems (e.g. ADAPTO, POSISORTER and BLUEVEYOR) now form the backbone of the integrated warehouse automation solutions that TAL offers.
“We’re number one in forklifts and we want to be number one in automation too,” Hibinger states. “Toyota Materials Handling is the number one lead source for TAL as they have so many dealers everywhere. If a customer wants an automation solution that’s where we come in.”
The objective, for Hibinger, is not just growing the revenue substantially, but also considerable innovation. “We’re thinking in terms of solutions, everything in the warehouse. We aim to double the business in the next five years.” Look out, KION.
TAL aims to offer a seamless customer journey in one connected solution, from material handling to automated warehousing and logistics, across the regions. By combining its strengths and innovative solutions, the goal is to deliver measurable results, and maximise the trust in the Toyota brand.
Deliver for you
This multinational household name spends $1m PER HOUR on research and development. User-inspired research to ‘improve the human condition’ is a core philosophy of Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO), which shares the discoveries of the Toyota Research Institute to keep all its divisions up with technological advances. All Toyota businesses practice the organisation’s famed production methods.
A key initiative for TAL’s sister company, Toyota Material Handling Europe, is a collaboration with SSAB, a Swedish-based steel manufacturer, to use low-carbon steel in a growing number of products. Toyota is seen as an early mover when it comes to the use of lower carbon materials, setting new standards for the industry. The use of low carbon-steel in the Toyota Lifter LHM230 hand pallet trucks has resulted in an 18% carbon emissions reduction cradle to gate compared to previous models.
TMHE Senior Sustainability Manager, Marc Maureaux said:
“The focus on sustainability is evident in so many areas. Safety is a critical issue, so we are developing new ideas to improve safety across many of our products, as well as collaborations with innovative companies who provide progressive solutions to improve safety in logistics operations. We are also continuously improving energy efficiency within our product range and there are many examples of this, such as the new Traigo80 3.5 to 5.0t with up to 12% energy savings, compared to previous models.”
