Terry Unnai new Chairman of Toyota Material Handling Europe

With a strong and solid background in the international material handling business, Terry Unnai succeeds Norio Wakabayashi as chairman of Toyota Material Handling Europe. The shift follows Toyota Industries Corporation’s acquisition of Vanderlande where Mr. Wakabayashi is now the chairman.

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Terry Unnai has over 35 years of experience in the global material handling business. He has spent more than 15 years of his career outside Japan, successfully holding senior positions in the U.S, Europe and Australia.

In 2001, Mr Unnai joined Toyota Industries Corporation, the world’s leading player in material handling business through its Toyota Material Handling Group. The company has had the largest share of the global market since 2001. In June 2017, Mr Unnai was appointed Chairman of Toyota Material Handling Europe and is now stationed at its European headquarters in Mjölby, Sweden.

“I am very enthusiastic about this new role, meeting new customers and working with a new team. It is our duty to focus on the human aspect of material handling by making sure we achieve the highest standards in areas such as safety, ergonomics and energy efficiency,” comments Terry. “I also find Sweden to be a nice and quiet place filled with nature and friendly people”.

Following the completion of the acquisition of Vanderlande in May, two senior executives from Toyota Material Handling Europe have joined Vanderlande. The former chairman, Norio Wakabayashi, is now Chairman at Vanderlande as well as a board member of Toyota Industries Europe, the holding company of both Vanderlande and Toyota Material Handling Europe. Hans van Leeuwen, the former Senior Vice President of Toyota’s Logistics Solutions, is today Senior Vice President Global Advanced Logistics at Vanderlande.

Both Mr van Leeuwen and Mr Wakabayashi played central roles in the process of the acquisition, and will continue to work on strengthening the cooperation between the two companies. The combination of the business portfolios of Vanderlande and Toyota cover the full range of material handling requirements in today’s market.