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In order to meet the increasing demands of its customers, Toyota Industries Corporation (TICO) will bundle its software development in autonomous vehicles (AVs), increase its global investments and establish T-Hive B.V. as a new center of expertise. By combining the software products, partnerships and innovations from TICO's main Group companies, Toyota L&F, Toyota Material Handling, Toyota Material Handling Europe, Raymond, Bastian Solutions and Vanderlande, and respective brands, the organization will significantly strengthen and expand TICO's main brands solution portfolio.

In recent years, the demand for AVs has been increasing in line with the rapid growth of the e-commerce market, labor shortages in general and the need for flexibility. Flexibility in operations, application areas and vehicle type have become increasingly important, as well as the potential to deploy AV solutions worldwide. With this in mind, T-Hive has been established to centrally coordinate all developments, leverage existing solutions for new market segments and accelerate innovations globally to support TICO's customer-facing companies.

The new company will operate from Ede in The Netherlands from April 2021 and be led by Léon Jansen. T-Hive's main focus will be to provide a seamless control system encompassing all AVs within TICO, such as automated guided forklifts (AGFs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). The combined solution portfolio will be introduced at logistics sites around the world, enabling TICO's customers to enjoy the seamless movement, storage and distribution of goods throughout their entire supply chains.

Senior Executive Officer Yojiro Mizuno, who is responsible for TICO's material handling solution business, stresses the importance of being close to customers while benefitting from global developments: “The new portfolio will consist of existing solutions within TICO, ensuring that our loyal customers can benefit throughout their automation journey. Our strong customer organizations support such developments while managing smooth project implementation on the customer side."

Executive Officer Norio Wakabayashi adds: “Due to the increasing demand for software development in all industries, securing talents is also becoming a global challenge. Our new company, T-Hive, will create opportunities for us to work together across the Toyota Industries Group network. This decision highlights TICO's commitment to remaining a leading player in the AV business and its investments accordingly."

[Overview of the new company]