Toyota Material Handling reflects on a memorable CeMAT 2016

On Tuesday 31 May, the Toyota booth at Pavilion 32 was officially opened by Kazue Sasaki, President of Toyota Material Handling Group, Norio Wakabayashi, Chairman of Toyota Material Handling Europe, Matthias Fischer, President and CEO, Sam Coles, Executive Vice President Marketing and Sales, Toyota Material Handling Europe, and Norman Memminger, Managing Director of Toyota Material Handling Deutschland, during the opening ceremony.

“We always have the philosophy ‘customer first and customer-thinking’. I think it’s important to show our hospitality to our customers by talking with them and understanding their needs, so we are able to offer them the best solutions,” explains Matthias Fischer. With this philosophy in mind, Toyota encouraged customers to visit the different areas of the booth to explore how Toyota have listened to their needs and responded by developing solutions from customer feedback.

One of the key areas was the TPS tour, which introduced the Toyota Production System, and offered customers a peek into the Ancenis factory thanks to Virtual Reality glasses. The TPS tour successfully explained how Toyota Material Handling applies lean manufacturing and which benefits it brings, in the context of Toyota’s dedication to quality and safety. Customers expressed that they were inspired to visit Toyota’s European factories and to apply TPS to the way they work in their own businesses.

In the Smart Dynamics dome, Toyota demonstrated how trucks fitted with I_Site technology can be connected and turned into Smart Trucks, which send and receive information that can, for example, increase safety and profitability. Customers showed great interest in I_Site’s new features and the fact that I_Site does not require any installation on-site: it is a mobile solution that uses 3G connectivity around the globe, making it user-friendly and cost-efficient.

Highlight of the booth was the Future Technology tour: customers were given the opportunity to take a look at the newest innovations of R&D, an example being the invisible mast. Everyone was invited to give feedback and express what they think is important for the future. “This is part of Toyota’s Logiconomi philosophy, which stands for logistics and economy: offering customers the best logistic solutions in a cost-effective way,” concludes Matthias Fischer, “We are very happy with the extremely positive feedback we have received from visitors. We look forward to further developing our concepts presented at the booth and to welcoming our customers at the next CeMAT. So think future, think Toyota.”