TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING AUSTRALIA BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF NEW MELBOURNE BRANCH

Leading forklift retailer Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) has broken ground on a new home for its operations in Victoria, with the state-of-the-art facility to provide a range of functions for the company.

Located in Dandenong South in Melbourne's south east, the new facility is approximately 5km away from the existing facility on Abbotts Rd and will offer a broad scope of capability for TMHA.

Having been in planning for five years from board approval to acquisition of land to commencement of construction, the new site sits on 32,600m2 of land - a significant 81 per cent increase over the outgoing facility.

The building area will take up half of the available land with 16,350m2 set aside for the facility itself - a 34 per cent increase over the previous building.

At 12,827m2, the new warehouse and workshop area is 28 per cent larger than before, while a new 300m2 'dirt' demonstration area will allow for prospective customers to demo its HUSKI Construction Equipment range of earthmoving products.

In addition, the new facility will feature state-of-the-art sealed and pressurised paint and preparation booths.

TMHA GM Corp Compliance & Project Development Bob Walmsley said the new site would allow for a greater level of usability and innovation for the brand.

"With features like a dedicated dirt demonstration area, paint booths and support for parts and service, our new state-of-the-art facility will offer more for our valued Victorian customers," Mr Walmsley said.

"We all can't wait to experience the fruits of this investment from TMHA and look forward to seeing the completed hub next year."

Along with facilitating sales and rental of TMHA forklift and allied equipment, the new facility will serve as a regional base for major and corporate accounts operations, will hold inventories of new material handling and Huski construction equipment, and will offer full support coverage for parts, workshop and field service, and training facilities.

The purpose-designed new facility and the land it is built on is wholly owned by TMHA.

Along with the construction of the new facility, TMHA is also exploring other opportunities to expand its branch operations through regional Victoria.

Construction of the new facility is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.