Go beyond the 70 years BT´s history of quality and innovation

Toyota Material Handling Europe celebrates BT´s rich history with a special event in Mjölby, Sweden today. During the event the BT Museum is opened, which commemorates BT’s history and legacy that continue to live today, as well as in the future - the new test center has started its operation in order to stimulate continued innovation.  

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Since the very beginning, BT has been a forerunner in quality and innovation. From the invention of the Europallet, which became the first European standardised pallet, over the hydraulic hand pallet truck designed by Rune Monö, to the first driverless trucks in the 70s, and the reach truck with tiltable cabin in 1992. A celebratory event is held in Mjölby for BT’s 70-year anniversary, with over 50 guests, among which former executives and business partners.

The highlight of the event is the inauguration of the new test and verification center, where various tests of advanced materials and logistic solutions, such as automation and IoT (internet of things), will be conducted. This will help the company to secure quality of the products and also to continuously explore new materials and technology to meet customer needs.

“By celebrating BT’s 70-year anniversary with this event we show how we cherish the values and qualities from BT, while still striving to be innovative as Toyota Material Handling. It is important to learn from our history to plan for the future. It allows us to build up our culture and have, to name an example, a close collaboration with our customers and suppliers that characterise both BT and Toyota,” says Matthias Fischer, President and CEO, Toyota Material Handling Europe.  “The way we move goods will change according to the needs of the customers, and we need to be prepared.”

The BT Museum not only shows the rich history of innovations by BT, but also the new thinking towards the future by Toyota Material Handling. The museum itself will function as a living museum with continuous improvements according to the Kaizen principle.

The celebration will continue with a campaign for limited edition reach trucks. From August until December, the BT Reflex RRE models produced by Toyota Material Handling display a specially designed BT badge. On top of this, all these reach trucks are equipped with Toyota I_Site for free during the first six months, which allows customers to experience the benefits of Smart Dynamics, such as safety, energy and cost-efficiency.