Matthias Fischer sets out his view of the European market and how it is developing as TMHE aims to achieve market leadership in-line with the rest of the world. He talks about the key emerging markets like Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, and how they differ from the rest of Europe at the moment. The impact of Chinese manufacturers is discussed, highlighting the need for service support. Matthias Fischer also talks about the launch of Toyota counterbalance trucks with hydrostatic control and how electric trucks are gaining popularity.

1. 24
Safe
European
home?
RICHARD CARR, IVT INTERNATIONAL
TOYOTA MATERIAL HANDLING MAY BE NUMBER ONE AROUND THE
WORLD, BUT EUROPE IS BUCKING THAT TREND. HOW DOES MATTHIAS
FISCHER, TMHE PRESIDENT AND CEO, INTEND TO CORRECT THAT?
Advanced Lift-truck Technology International 2014

2. 25
OEM INTERVIEW
Given the constant flow
of information about the
impressive status – even
when in decline – of the Chinese
and Asian industrial vehicle
markets, it’s easy to forget that,
with annual volumes habitually
reaching over 300,000 units, the
European market for forklift trucks
is traditionally the world’s largest.
Similarly, given Toyota Material
Handling’s well-publicised world-
leading status, it may also surprise
some readers to learn that, while
the OEM tops the North American
and Asian markets, it only occupies
third position in Europe, behind
the Kion Group and Jungheinrich.
So when I met Matthias Fischer,
president and CEO, Toyota Material
Handling Europe (TMHE) recently,
I was keen to find out why this was
the case, and what he intended to
do about it.
“I think this is quite easy to
answer,” he says. “We are number
one in Japan and the USA because
we have a long history in those
markets; much longer than the
history of Toyota in Europe. Our
European competitors have been
acting over here for many, many
years and built up a very strong
customer base – so we have to
conquer that.
“However, in some European
countries we are already number
one, so I think we’ve made a good
step forward over the last 10 or 20
years. So if you summarise the
total setup of what we have in
Europe, then we are only missing a
few percentage points to become
number one. So there’s not a huge
gap between us, but it’s still a gap
nonetheless and it’s sometimes
tricky to close it.”
Counter challenge
So is there one particular product
sector that will be key to closing
that gap? Matthias points out that
TMHE’s BT warehouse range has
a higher share of the market than
Toyota’s counterbalance trucks –
no doubt helped by its longer
presence in Europe – leaving the
highly competitive CB sector as
perhaps the main battleground.
“Therefore, we’ll be launching
our new product, the HST, (see iVT
February 2014, p10) and this is
targeting a certain market as well.
That has been developed here in
Europe for the European market,
as hydrostatic trucks are not very
common outside of our continent.
If that changes in the future, then
we have something we can export
from here.”
Eastern Europe is where major
growth is happening, of course –
OOO Toyota Material Handling
RUS was recently created to take
advantage of that situation – so
how might trends and prospects in
the region affect TMHE’s strategies
in the coming decade?
“You really have to divide
eastern Europe into two different
areas. One is the area close to the
‘border’ with western Europe, which
Advanced Lift-truck Technology International 2014

3. 27
OEM INTERVIEW
includes Czech Republic, Slovakia
and Poland. That is now quite a
developed market. Then you have
the area with Russia, Ukraine and
Belarus, where there is a completely
different infrastructure and very
different competitors.
“Russia, for example, is quite
influenced by Chinese products –
you find a lot of Chinese IC trucks
over there. But I think in the next
10 years, you will see a big change
in the structure – logistics will grow
in these countries and the market
will mature, for sure.
“I also think the customer will
increasingly understand that it’s
important to have a reliable partner
for long-term solutions. So we will
also see a trend in these countries
where more customers are willing to
pay a bit extra in the beginning as
a way to then save costs through
the lifetime – however, that will
take some time.”
Given that the western European
market is now very much different
from what it was 20 years ago, that’s
a fair point. Go outside of Moscow,
Matthias points out however, and
you’ll encounter conditions that
equipment used in more advanced
markets – such as a stacker with 3cm
ground clearance – just wouldn’t be
able to cope with. “But once the
infrastructure is there, you will see
demand for warehouse products
increase. But it will take time –
longer than we think.”
Engines for growth?
While browsing the TMHE website
ahead of our chat, I’d been quite
startled to see that only 12% of the
trucks it produces are IC-powered.
So how might growth in eastern
Europe affect that proportion – and
might it even be fair to say that the
region is keeping internal combustion
truck production alive?
“In the western European market,
size-wise the warehouse market is
clearly dominant. So CB electrics are
now getting a little higher share
than CB IC, especially as a result of
the new emissions legislation, and
improved quick-charging systems.
Electric trucks were once regarded as
providing lower performance than
an IC truck, but they are now at the
same level. So in the range between
1-3 tonnes, I think we will see more
and more customers going for CB
electrics than IC trucks – although
our new 4-tonne Traigo (page 13)
can match IC performance too.
“Eastern Europe is the other way
around, however, because cheap fuel
is readily available. They often need
a truck for inside and outside use, and
may not have very flat floors. In their
logistic premises not everything is
completely clean. But I think in the
future you will see the warehouse
market going up at the expense of
the CB market – in fact, we can see
that happening already.”
Looking over the shoulder
Returning to those Chinese
competitors, I ask whether their
threat is mainly restricted to sales in
eastern Europe, or whether in western
Europe they are limited to competing
with brands that don’t occupy TMHE’s
high-end position. Is there a danger
Advanced Lift-truck Technology International 2014
French toast
As of January last year, TMHE and
Manitou ended their exclusive
distribution agreement for Toyota-
branded equipment in France, with
both groups recognising that the
business model was no longer
suitable for further market
development.
So, a little over one year later, how
has that all been working out, I asked
Matthias Fischer?
“I think we are quite satisfied at
the moment,” he confirms. “Now
we are building the dealer channel
directly, so we have TMH France
selling CB trucks and our warehouse
trucks. The existing dealers for the
Manitou range are also selling our CB
products, both IC and electric, now
as well.
“So we now have the same setup
there that we have in other countries,
with a direct organisation and a
dealer organisation in parallel. The
good thing is that the dealers from
the Manitou arrangement are now
selling the BT range to brand-new
customers. Previously there was only
a small overlapping of the Toyota/BT
customer base – roughly 10% – we
were fishing in different ponds. The
BT sales guys did not target the
industrial and smaller customers
because they couldn’t offer a good
CB range as well, and the Toyota
dealer was never going to target the
Carrefours of this world because there
wasn’t a complete range on the
warehouse side.
“But now we can see an increase
in both areas – the direct sales force
now with the Toyota products, and
the BT setup selling more Toyota
trucks to the other side. It’s a good
setup, and we have seen that echoed
in many markets, where they have
the direct sales force in parallel with
dealers in the same area – they are
selling the same products, but in a
friendly atmosphere. That’s important
– you have to avoid cannibalisation!”
“ELECTRIC TRUCKS WERE ONCE REGARDED AS PROVIDING
LOWER PERFORMANCE THAN AN IC TRUCK, BUT THEY ARE
NOW AT THE SAME LEVEL. SO IN THE RANGE BETWEEN 1-3
TONNES, I THINK WE WILL SEE MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS
GOING FOR CB ELECTRICS THAN IC TRUCKS”
BT products, such
as the new Levio
P-series due to be
launched at CeMat,
have a higher
market share
in Europe than
Toyota-branded
products

4. 28
OEM INTERVIEW
Advanced Lift-truck Technology International 2014
in focusing all your attention on the
two giants ahead of you, and risking
being taken by surprise by the
minnows coming up behind?
“If you look into the Chinese
development, it’s quite an up and
down situation that we have,” he
says. “Five or six years ago, there was
a hype and they were gaining share,
then they went quiet over the last
three or four years and lost a bit of
that share. Now, however, you can
see an increase again. We see high
competition from China in places
like Turkey, Ukraine or Russia; they
are quite strong in markets where
customers are not willing to pay a
lot of up-front cost, where they’re
not looking at the total cost of
ownership.
“In western European markets,
the Chinese still face difficulties due
to lack of a service organisation. And
also, we have a surplus of used trucks
so it often makes more sense to buy
a used Toyota truck than a new
Chinese one. However, we are
watching the situation very carefully,
and closely following the statistics,
especially in areas where we have the
highest competition from China.”
But what’s the best way of
counteracting that threat, I press –
do you make a cheaper product or,
in the more advanced markets, add
on even more extra value?
“In a mature market, most of the
customers understand the concept
of lifetime costs. You can compare
how much you’re able to pay, based
over the next six or seven years, or
whatever the contract duration is.
Chinese competitors have some
difficulty doing that.
“The people who are buying their
products are the smaller customers
who use a truck for two hours a day,
maybe even less. Then they think,
‘Okay, this truck is doing the job’.
What we are asking customers is, ‘If
you have a breakdown, how long
will it take until you get the spare
parts or until they send a technician
out to fix it? Even if you only need
the truck for two hours a day, how
will you carry the loads?’
“So for those types of customers
for whom a new truck will always be
too expensive, we try to sell them a
used, but still high-quality, one.
“In western Europe, you will only
ever be number one by being best in
service, providing reliable trucks that
last for many years. We carried out a
survey of 8,000 European customers,
and over 90% were either satisfied or
very satisfied with our service. We’ve
even taken the Toyota Production
System (TPS) that we use in our
manufacturing facilities and applied
that to our service procedure, with
the Toyota Service Concept.
“So the Chinese are getting better
– but you will never find a Toyota
truck at their price level!” ALT
“IN WESTERN EUROPE, YOU WILL ONLY EVER BE NUMBER ONE BY BEING BEST
IN SERVICE, PROVIDING RELIABLE TRUCKS THAT LAST FOR MANY YEARS”
ABOVE: A strong team
behind the plans to
conquer Europe – left to
right: Norman Memminger,
MD, TMH Deutschland;
Hirooki Fujiwara, chairman
and executive co-ordinator,
TMHE and senior managing
officer, TICO; Matthias
Fischer; and Hans van
Leeuwen, EVP Marketing
and Sales, TMHE