Toyota ups stake in Takeuchi and plans global cooperation

Toyota has increased its stake in Takeuchi Manufacturing Co, the Japanese manufacturer of excavators, tracked loaders and tracked dump trucks. The two companies said they would extend their business alliance globally to grow the construction equipment sales of both companies.

Toyota Tsusho, the trading company of Toyota Group, has acquired over 1 billion new Takeuchi shares valued at Yen 622 million (€4.7 million), which gives it a 7% stake in Takeuchi and makes it the second largest shareholder.

Toyota said the investment was part of a wider alliance between the two companies that would see them cooperate to expand Takeuchi's global sales and help Toyota in its goal of diversifying beyond the automotive sector.

The Japanese car maker already sells Takeuchi equipment in Japan, and under the new alliance, Toyota said a joint venture would be established; "to use Toyota Tsusho's domestic and international network to develop new markets for the construction machinery business (Brazil, Central and South America, Russia, the Middle and Near East and Africa),while at the same time using Takeuchi's technological know-how, manufacturing capabilities and sales expertise to strengthen existing markets in North America and Europe."

The two companies are linked historically through Takeuchi's involvement with Tomen Trading, a Japanese company that merged with Toyota Tsusho in 2006. In 1972 Takeuchi manufactured excavators for Tomen Trading.

Toyota's increased involvement with Takeuchi is part of a diversification policy that has seen in invest in other non-automotive businesses, including Japanese aerial platform manufacturer Aichi Corp. With Aichi, the link with Toyota has seen the company shift to ‘Toyota-style' manufacturing and more recently seen Aichi sell its platforms in North America through the dealership network of Toyota Material Handling.