Skip to content
Search AI Powered
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Toyota acquires Bastian Solutions

Forklift vendor buys systems integrator to sell services for handling e-commerce and labor costs; promises more acquisitions to come.

Ben Ames
By Ben AmesFeb 01, 2017
Ben Ames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
See Full Bio

Global forklift sales leader Toyota Industries Corp. (TICO) will acquire systems integrator Bastian Solutions LLC and create a new division that sells e-commerce, labor-cost, and productivity solutions for the North American material handling market, the companies said Thursday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

TICO, based in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, said it will market Bastian's services through a new division called Toyota Advanced Logistics Solutions (TALS) that will operate separately from the forklift business. TALS and the forklift business will collaborate as needed, TICO said. TICO is the parent company of forklift vendor Toyota Material Handling North America (TMHNA).

TICO said it has plans to expand the new division, calling Indianapolis, Ind.-based Bastian "the first group company in the TALS operative structure, until further plans for strategic growth are announced."

TICO said it launched the venture in response to changing dynamics in the North American material handling market that have created demand for new forms of logistics solutions beyond forklifts. By launching TALS, TICO intends to build a stronger presence in the area of advanced logistics technology, and to share that expertise with both its Toyota and Raymond brand forklift dealers, according to a statement from Brett Wood, president and CEO of TMHNA.

The strategy is similar to that of rival lift truck vendor Kion Group AG, which eight months ago paid $2.1 billion to buy Atlanta-based systems integrator Dematic Corp., saying it wanted to expand its catalog of forklift trucks and sell a wider array of fully automated material handling solutions.

TICO said it named industry veteran Mike Romano president and CEO of the new division. Romano will take over on April 3, resigning from his current role as president and CEO of Chicago-based industry supplier Associated Integrated Supply Chain Solutions.

No additional management changes are planned for Bastian, which will continue to be led by CEO Bill Bastian II and President Aaron Jones.

ArticleInternal MovementMaterial Handling
bastian solutionstoyota industries corp.toyota material handling north america (tmhna)
ArticleInternal MovementMaterial Handling
bastian solutionstoyota industries corp.toyota material handling north america (tmhna)

The Latest

courthouse in germany
Air Cargo

Deutsche Bahn claims victory in “air freight cartel” settlement

boxes on a conveyor
Warehousing 3PL

Amazon adds Adidas as its latest e-commerce 3PL customer

truck with combined battery and generator power
Green Logistics

DHL tests electric truck with on-board generator

More Stories

aerial photo of warehouses

Prologis names company president Letter to become new CEO

Logistics real estate developer Prologis today named a new chief executive, saying the company’s current president, Dan Letter, will succeed CEO and co-founder Hamid Moghadam when he steps down in about a year.

After retiring on January 1, 2026, Moghadam will continue as San Francisco-based Prologis’ executive chairman, providing strategic guidance. According to the company, Moghadam co-founded Prologis’ predecessor, AMB Property Corporation, in 1983. Under his leadership, the company grew from a startup to a global leader, with a successful IPO in 1997 and its merger with ProLogis in 2011.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Warehouse automation project orders fell 3% in 2024
Featured

Warehouse automation project orders fell 3% in 2024

truck trailers made by wabash
Vehicle & Trailer Equipment & Services

Infrastructure maker Wabash acquires cargo security firm

collage of container and port photos
Reverse Logistics

DHL Supply Chain expands offerings in returns, multi-shoring

artistic image of a building roof
Global Logistics

BCG: tariffs would accelerate change in global trade flows

Companies double down on resilience as trade complexities rise
Featured

Companies double down on resilience as trade complexities rise

Raising the bar on inventory visibility
Supply Chain IT

Raising the bar on inventory visibility

AI sensors on manufacturing machine

AI firm Augury banks $75 million in fresh VC

The New York-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) provider Augury has raised $75 million for its process optimization tools for manufacturers, in a deal that values the company at more than $1 billion, the firm said today.

According to Augury, its goal is deliver a new generation of AI solutions that provide the accuracy and reliability manufacturers need to make AI a trusted partner in every phase of the manufacturing process.

Keep ReadingShow less
AMR robots in a warehouse

Indian AMR firm Anscer expands to U.S. with new VC funding

The Indian warehouse robotics provider Anscer has landed new funding and is expanding into the U.S. with a new regional headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Bangalore-based Anscer had recently announced new financial backing from early-stage focused venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Supply chains continue to deal with a growing volume of returns following the holiday peak season, and 2024 was no exception. Recent survey data from product information management technology company Akeneo showed that 65% of shoppers made holiday returns this year, with most reporting that their experience played a large role in their reason for doing so.

The survey—which included information from more than 1,000 U.S. consumers gathered in January—provides insight into the main reasons consumers return products, generational differences in return and online shopping behaviors, and the steadily growing influence that sustainability has on consumers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Automation delivers results for high-end designer

When you get the chance to automate your distribution center, take it.

That's exactly what leaders at interior design house Thibaut Design did when they relocated operations from two New Jersey distribution centers (DCs) into a single facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Moving to an "empty shell of a building," as Thibaut's Michael Fechter describes it, was the perfect time to switch from a manual picking system to an automated one—in this case, one that would be driven by voice-directed technology.

Keep ReadingShow less
Copyright ©2025.