Freedom of choice
June 1st 2007

Toyota says its new customisable 1.5 to 3.5t counterbalance range is designed specifically for the European market with five key drivers at its core. Alongside a standard range, customers can also specify a Tonero+ truck configured to their preferences. Brendan Coyne reports

As the market digested Toyota Material Handling Europe’s move to integrate BT into its operations, the company sought to up the counterbalance ante with a new European truck range: the 99 per cent recyclable and customisable Tonero.

A European truck for European customers, it is the first to benefit from TMHE’s dedicated product planning group and is the result of extensive European customer research, according to product manager for Europe, Benoit Meunier. He says their feedback revealed five key elements that steered the truck’s development: safety; productivity; durability; comfort and environment.

Safety

The core truck harnesses Toyota’s system of active stability (SAS) and operator presence sensing (POS) which means the truck will only operate when the driver is seated. A wide mast and lowered dashboard increases visibility.

Productivity

Based on VDI testing (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure – Germany's professional engineers association that issues testing standards which manufacturers can subsequently test against), UK product services manager, Craig Walby, says it is six per cent more productive than its closest rival, a portion of which is due to increased lifting speed. He also says the fact Toyota designs, develops and and manufactures its own engines means they are tailored specifically for the truck.

Durability

A heavy duty chassis is designed for intense use in wet, dusty and corrosive environments. Electrical components are water protected and electronic control units are fully enclosed.

Comfort

A lowered step makes life easier for drivers who are constantly in and out of the truck. More foot space, ergonomic seat (which swivels in both directions to make reversing less taxing on the +Comfort package) and very low vibration (facilitated by redesigned three-point anti-vibration dampers and rubber mountings) make a shift less draining for the operator, according to Meunier.

Environment

While Toyota isn’t involved at the end of a truck’s life cycle, the Tonero is 99 per cent recyclable. Manufactured at Toyota’s ISO 14001-certified plant in France, all components are certified to the same level. According to Meunier, the remaining one per cent of components, such as wire harnesses – where it is difficult to separate the wire from the plastic – could arguably be more energy intensive to recycle than not.

Customisation

All of the above are evident in the ‘basic’ Tonero. But customers can also customise trucks to suit their specific needs using the Tonero+ packages, through which additional performance parameters are possible.

“We have tried to develop a truck that is in tune with different market requirements - and even within specific segments of individual markets,” says Meunier. “For example, if a customer wants more safety they can specify the Tonero+Safety package, which avoids sudden acceleration with loads at height.”

Alongside standard features such as SAS and Operator Presence Sensing (which means the truck will only operate if the driver is seated), the safety package includes a load weight indicator, maximum drive speed and acceleration reduction with lifted load, and a maximum drive speed reduction regardless of load.

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