What TMHNA’s $100 Million U.S. Manufacturing Investment Means for Raymond, Werres and the Customers We Serve
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Toyota Material Handling North America’s $100 million investment in U.S. electric forklift manufacturing signals more than expanded production. Explore what the new Columbus facility means for Raymond, Werres, electrification, manufacturing capacity, and the Mid-Atlantic customers we support.
Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA) has officially opened a new 295,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Columbus, Indiana, representing a $100 million investment in North American electric forklift production.
For Werres customers, the significance extends well beyond another manufacturing facility.
The investment is part of a larger shift taking place across the Toyota Material Handling North America ecosystem: expanding domestic manufacturing capacity, preparing for continued growth in electric equipment and creating greater specialization across the facilities that manufacture Toyota and Raymond products.
For Werres, a Raymond Solutions and Support Center serving businesses throughout the Mid-Atlantic, those investments strengthen the infrastructure behind the equipment and solutions we provide locally.
The Investment at a Glance
$100 million invested in expanded U.S. electric forklift manufacturing
295,000 square feet of new manufacturing space in Columbus, Indiana
Electric counterbalanced forklifts for both Toyota and Raymond will be produced at the facility
Approximately 70% of the North American lift-truck market is already electric
Raymond’s Greene facility gains greater focus on reach trucks, order pickers and automation
More Electric Forklift Capacity, Built in the U.S.
The new Columbus facility will manufacture electric counterbalanced forklifts for both the Toyota and Raymond brands.
TMHNA reports that electric equipment currently accounts for approximately 70% of the North American lift-truck market, up from 66% in 2023, and expects electric demand could reach 80% before 2035.
That trajectory helps explain the scale of the Columbus investment.
Rather than adding capacity around the edges of its existing operations, TMHNA has dedicated a major new U.S. manufacturing facility specifically to electric equipment.
The result is additional production capacity designed around where the market is heading.
Will the new facility improve equipment availability?
That is one of the objectives behind the investment.
TMHNA has specifically identified reduced lead times and greater manufacturing flexibility among the benefits of its expanded U.S. production capacity.
That does not mean every Raymond model will suddenly have a shorter lead time. Availability will continue to depend on equipment, configuration and market demand. But additional domestic production capacity gives TMHNA greater flexibility to respond to a market increasingly dominated by electric equipment.
Key Takeaway
TMHNA is adding U.S. production capacity around the segment already representing the majority of the North American lift-truck market.
The Impact Extends to Raymond Manufacturing in Greene
The Columbus expansion also changes how manufacturing capacity can be deployed elsewhere within TMHNA.
The electric Class I stand-up counterbalanced forklift now being produced in Columbus was previously manufactured at TMHNA’s Greene, New York, facility, historically home to Raymond manufacturing.
Moving that production to Columbus allows Greene to concentrate more heavily on products including reach trucks, order pickers and automation.
Why does the shift in Raymond production matter?
Because adding capacity in one facility can create capacity somewhere else.
Warehouses and distribution centers increasingly need more than a counterbalanced forklift. High-density storage, narrow aisles, order fulfillment, labor constraints and changing throughput requirements are driving demand for specialized equipment and increasingly automated solutions.
Allowing Greene to focus more heavily on these areas creates greater manufacturing specialization within the TMHNA network and aligns capacity with some of the fastest-changing needs inside today’s warehouses.
Adding capacity in Columbus does more than expand electric forklift production. It also creates room for greater specialization across the Raymond manufacturing network.
One TMHNA Ecosystem, Two Established Brands
The investment also comes at an important point in the evolution of Toyota and Raymond.
In 2025, Toyota Material Handling and The Raymond Corporation formally integrated under Toyota Material Handling North America while retaining the Toyota and Raymond brand identities.
Today, approximately one in three forklifts sold in North America carries either the Toyota or Raymond name.
The new Columbus facility provides a tangible example of what that integration can mean operationally: manufacturing resources and investment can be deployed across the larger organization while each brand continues serving its respective market and distribution network.
Where does Werres fit into the TMHNA and Raymond ecosystem?
Werres is the local connection between those larger capabilities and the customer’s operation.
As a Raymond Solutions and Support Center, we help customers evaluate applications, specify equipment, support fleets, provide parts and service, train operators and determine when a traditional lift truck may no longer be the only or best answer.
Behind that local relationship is the manufacturing scale, engineering and product development of Raymond and the broader TMHNA organization.
What Could These Changes Mean for Your Operation?
Werres can help evaluate your fleet, application requirements and long-term equipment strategy.
Talk to a Werres SpecialistElectrification Is Becoming a Facility Conversation
The industry’s transition toward electric equipment is also changing what a forklift purchase involves.
As electric fleets grow, the conversation increasingly extends beyond the truck itself.
Battery chemistry and capacity, charging infrastructure, available electrical service, operating schedules, utilization, opportunity charging and fleet size can all influence the right equipment strategy.
TMHNA’s investment in electric manufacturing is occurring alongside investment elsewhere in that ecosystem. In 2025, TMHNA announced a strategic investment in Advanced Charging Technologies, a longtime charging-solutions provider to both Raymond and Toyota.
Together, these investments point toward a broader shift: electrification is becoming less about selecting an electric forklift and more about designing the energy ecosystem that supports the fleet.
Should more operations be considering electric forklifts?
Electric equipment already represents approximately 70% of the North American lift-truck market, so electrification should increasingly be part of long-term fleet planning.
But that does not automatically make electric the right answer for every application.
The better question is whether the truck, battery, charging strategy, facility infrastructure and operating schedule work together for the demands of the operation.
Key Takeaway
Electric fleet planning is increasingly a facility decision, not simply an equipment decision.
What This Means for Mid-Atlantic Operations
For manufacturers, warehouses and distribution centers throughout Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the surrounding region, the Columbus expansion represents investment much farther upstream in the supply chain, but its potential impact reaches the local level.
TMHNA is expanding domestic electric production. Raymond’s Greene operation gains greater ability to focus on specialized equipment and automation. And the broader organization continues investing in technologies surrounding the electric fleet itself.
For Werres customers, those developments strengthen an ecosystem connecting U.S. manufacturing with local application expertise, fleet support, service, training, automation and energy solutions.
The biggest takeaway is not simply that TMHNA built another factory. It is what the investment says about where material handling is heading.
What should customers take away from the announcement?
The industry is moving toward more electric equipment, greater manufacturing specialization, increasingly sophisticated warehouse solutions and closer integration between equipment, energy and automation.
TMHNA is investing in U.S. manufacturing capacity to support that transition.
As a Raymond Solutions and Support Center, Werres operates at the customer-facing end of that ecosystem, helping Mid-Atlantic businesses translate those capabilities into practical decisions about what comes next for their operations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is TMHNA’s new manufacturing facility?
The new 295,000-square-foot facility is located in Columbus, Indiana, and represents a $100 million investment in U.S. electric forklift production.
What forklifts will be manufactured there?
The facility will manufacture electric counterbalanced forklifts for both the Toyota and Raymond brands.
What happens to Raymond manufacturing in Greene, New York?
Moving electric stand-up counterbalanced forklift production to Columbus allows the Greene operation to concentrate more heavily on products including reach trucks, order pickers and automation.
Does this mean electric forklifts are right for every warehouse?
No. The right equipment depends on the application, operating environment, utilization and infrastructure. Battery selection, charging strategy and facility power requirements should be evaluated alongside the truck itself.
How does Werres support customers within this network?
Werres serves as the local Raymond Solutions and Support Center for customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic, providing application expertise, equipment selection, service, parts, training, fleet support and automation solutions backed by the broader Raymond and TMHNA ecosystem.
Planning Your Next Fleet Move?
Whether you are replacing aging equipment, evaluating an electric fleet or considering how automation could fit into your operation, the equipment itself is only one part of the decision.
Werres can help evaluate the application, infrastructure and long-term operating requirements behind it.
Talk to a Werres Specialist