Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing France: “Atlantic France is very attractive from many viewpoints”

JAPAN | Phillipe Mahé, managing director of Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing France, a company producing forklift trucks, shares his thoughts on the benefits for a company being located in Atlantic France. From working in a prime location to having technical clusters to support the company’s activities, Toyota is flourishing in this region.

The location is ideal. Near the highway which joins Paris and Nantes, allowing customers to be reached easily, with the added bonus that Nantes Saint-Nazaire Port is just an hour away, making it straightforward to receive components which are imported from companies in Asia.

Located in Ancenis, Atlantic France, Toyota is finding the region to be very beneficial for their future producing forklifts for the material handling business. Not only is the location of the enterprise convenient, it is also an area with a strong expertise in logistics and many “industries which are very active”, Phillipe Mahé states. 

Whilst Toyota in Japan designs most of the products which are produced by this company, it is in the Ancenis R&D center where the products are adapted to the European requirements and also allows for further innovation. 

Nearly 400 employees in Atlantic France

“This region is very attractive from many viewpoints”, continues the managing director. Toyota Material Handling Manufacturing France is succeeding in this area with “nearly 400 employees in this company”, making it the second biggest Japanese employer in Atlantic France, and are “producing nearly 9 to 10 thousand forklift trucks per year.” 

The business is expected to grow with the use of new technology to develop the electricity power supply for their forklift trucks. 

Both an inviting place to work and live

According to Mahé there are many advantages to living and working in Atlantic France, “the industry sector is very well developed and the infrastructure to accompany this development is also very well structured. And also from a personal viewpoint, I think it’s a very attractive region and a nice place to live.” Atlantic France has it all!