Cost control is key for Toyota and its customers

Andrew Elliot (pictured), executive VP for marketing at Toyota Material Handling Europe, told WM that the factories – in Mjolby, Sweden; Ancenis, France; and Bologna, Italy – took difficult decisions to reduce headcount and, in some cases, moved to three-day weeks. "The downturn hit us as hard as anyone, with a 50% reduction to the market in a very short space of time," he said. Downsizing cut the workforce by 15%, he added. Market recovery has now meant a return to full production, first with agency labour and now some additional permanent employees, and the organisation is looking to recruit more. The European forklift market recovery is patchy, he said, and some markets – including Italy – may not recover to pre-recession levels, though others such as Germany and Russia are "booming" and fast approaching 2008 volumes. The UK market is bouncing back, says Toyota, but again may not recover to 2008 levels for some considerable time. Cost control is still firmly on Toyota's agenda – but now for its customers. Toyota's theme for CeMAT, the forthcoming European materials handling event in Germany (2-6 May), is 'driving down costs'. At its recent press event in Sweden (16-17 March), TMHE previewed the order picking products it will unveil at CeMAT, which included an automated order picking truck that can be combined with driver-operated trucks in a semi-automated environment. "Driving down costs is now our core message," said Elliot. "Customers are focusing on reducing their operating costs... and our product, service and solutions offer is designed to help customers reduce the cost per load of goods moved, as well as the overall cost of their material handling operations."