Toyota Industries is acquiring Braban-based Vanderlande for EUR 1.16 billion. To this end, major shareholder NPM Capital and Japanese Toyota have reached an agreement. The acquisition should be completed in the first quarter of 2018.
Vanderlande is a manufacturer of logistics transport systems and market leader in airport baggage conveyors. With the Veghel-based company, Toyota Industries is entering the goods distribution market. A strategic move, due to the growing e-commerce market. Logistics systems like Vanderlande's would play a crucial role in this, according to Toyota.
Toyota is the world leader in forklift trucks, which means it is already active in parcel handling. Among other things, it produces automated guided vehicles (agv's), which move independently through a warehouse or distribution centre.
No job losses
According to finance director Herman Molenaar, Vanderlande will operate as an independent division from Veghel. No jobs are also expected to be lost. "Toyota is buying us because our market is growing. Last year we hired seven hundred people. We expect to hire at least five hundred people again next year," Molenaar told NOS Journaal. Vanderlande board chairman Remo Brunschwiler expects the acquisition to give Vanderlande a growth boost. "The financial muscle of the Japanese group will help the Brabant-based company advance in its growth plans."
Vanderlande currently employs 4,500 people, including 1,600 in the Netherlands. In 2015, it posted sales of almost a billion euros. The company was named best employer at the end of 2016 .
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