Toyota Opens National Customer Center

Toyota celebrated the grand opening of its National Customer Center at its manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ind. The $11-million investment added 108,000 square feet to the Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM) campus through an expanded distribution center and a state-of-the-art customer center.

“This celebration is not only to commemorate a new facility; it is to mark a commitment to our customers. Our National Customer Center is the world leader and embodies the level of support we provide our customers on a daily basis,” said Dr. Shankar Basu, president and CEO of Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A. (TMHU).

Visitors to the new center are greeted by a comprehensive collection of Toyota lift trucks, including the first lift

truck that the company sold in the United States. Following customer presentations, one wall of the facility’s theater recedes into the ceiling revealing customer-specific lift trucks at work in a demonstration room. An in-depth factory tour concludes most customer visits. To further support its customers, Toyota also expanded its sales office and added 43,500 square feet of space to its distribution center.

“This facility and overall customer experience illustrates Toyota’s commitment to its dealer body,” said Al Rawson, president of Atlas Toyota Material Handling (Schiller Park, Ill.) and chairman of Toyota’s National Dealer Advisory Council. The new facility exemplifies Toyota's ongoing investment in the North American market. The company has invested $111 million in Columbus since 1990.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TMHU offers a full line of Toyota brand lift trucks. In 2005, for the third consecutive year, Crist Information & Research ranked Toyota as the largest supplier of lift trucks in the United States.