Counterbalanced trucks, new warehouse trucks, power solutions and automation and I_Site technology are part of Toyota Material Handling offerings displayed at CeMat this week.
“We talk to a lot of customers and conduct a lot of surveys, so we know what the market is looking for – its reliability, its safety and its efficiency. These are the goals we work to deliver,” explains Hans van Leeuwen, executive vice president Marketing and Sales,Toyota Material Handling Europe.
New counterbalanced trucks
New products this year include new machines for both the counterbalanced and warehouse truck ranges. IC-engine counterbalanced truck launches include a new range of Toyota Tonero models with hydrostatic transmission systems. The Tonero range also includes new high-tonnage models with capacities up to 8 tons. New electric counterbalanced trucks include an 80-volt series in the Toyota Traigo family, with high-energy efficiency and IC-standard performance levels.
New warehouse trucks
The BT Levio P-series range is a completely new family of powered pallet trucks with driver platform. Toyota’s heritage in platform trucks extends back fifty years when the driver platform was first invented on a BT machine. These models offer have capacities up to 2.5 tons, but in an extremely small unit. The new trucks choices of side and rear guard protection and fully adjustable controls.
Toyota is also launching a new reach truck, purpose-designed and built for basic reach truck applications. The BT Reflex B-series has simple, straightforward controls and is fit for applications with non-dedicated drivers. Lift capacities up to 1.6 tons with lift heights to 8.5 m. These models will complement the existing R and E-series models.
The company is also displaying a number of integrated automated solutions at CeMAT, including new concepts for semi-automated order picking.
Power Solutions
Lithium Ion battery solutions are now beyond the development phase and are offered as standard options on Toyota’s powered pallet trucks and low level order pickers, giving the benefits of long working shifts and opportunity charging, as well as a long working life.
Other exhibits include the latest in fuel cell technology and the presentation of a new concept in IC engine design that will improve fuel efficiency.
Smart trucks for added safety
The Toyota I_Site system will be demonstrated at CeMAT. It includes safety features with a new pre-operational safety check facility and the ability to monitor truck and driver operations remotely via an app for iPhones. Toyota I_Site is built on the company’s technologies that allow data to be transmitted directly from trucks to a web-based platform by simply using 3G/GPRS communication technologies used in mobile phones.
This ‘smart truck’ technology takes the basic elements of I_Site that allows Toyota truck users, independently from the Toyota I_Site fleet management system, to utilize safety controls such as pre-operational checks, shock-sensing and driver authorization controls – again controllable via the iPhone app.