

TOYOTA INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT OBTAINS FIRST TRUCK SOLD IN U.S.

TORRANCE, CA (January 24, 1997)In 1967, TIE sold its first lift truck in the United States. To help celebrate its 30th anniversary of selling forklifts in the U.S., Toyota Industrial Equipment (TIE) conducted a search to locate that truck. Not only was TIE, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., able to locate the truckat a raisin vineyard owned by Charles Andersen in Fresno, Californiabut with the help of its warranty records they were pleasantly surprised to find the truck still in use on the 50-acre Thompson seedless grape vineyard. The 4,000-lb. internal combustion engine pneumatic tire forklift was still used year-round, and tackled a heavy workload during the grape harvest in August, September and October. "Our Toyota forklift had the lowest maintenance costs of all equipment on the farm," said Anderson. "The truck was so dependable that we sometimes used it to jump start other farm equipment." Since the truck is still fully operational, TIE offered to replace it with one of its state-of-the-art, 4,000 lb. 6-Series trucks. The truck from 1967 features a venturi-type carburetor, slide mast, manual steering, a push rod engine and available only with a gas engine. Today's 6-Series forklifts feature a roller mast; power steering; overhead cam engine and is available with either a gas, diesel and LP engine. One common feature found in both trucks is Toyota quality. "Considering that the average life of a lift truck is less than 10 years, this is a considerable accomplishment and is a direct testament to Toyota quality," said Shankar Basu, assistant general manager of sales and operations for TIE. "We are extremely proud of this truck because it symbolizes the great strides we've made in the U.S. since 1967," said Basu. With a manufacturing facility in Indiana, Toyota is the largest manufacturer of lift trucks in the U.S. and has become one of the most recognizable names in the material handling industry. Toyota plans to display the truck at special company events, to help commemorate 30 years of selling quality forklifts in the U.S. TIE, headquartered in Torrance, Calif., markets and distributes various classes of internal combustion and electric-powered forklifts in the U.S. The forklifts are sold through nearly 90 dealers with 168 outlets throughout the country. Over 95 percent of the lift trucks sold in the U.S. are manufactured in North America.