A rapidly expanding regional freight company has switched to Toyota rental forklifts so it can continue to concentrate on building the business.
In just four years Midstate Freight in Bathurst, New South Wales, has grown from one depot and one truck to four depots, 40 staff and 36 vehicles.
In late August the company commissioned an additional two 2.5-tonne payload Toyota 8FG25 forklifts from the Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) branch in Orange.
Managing director Mick Winwood-Smith said leasing Toyota forklifts provided benefits in service and workplace health and safety compliance, allowing him to focus on his core business.
"We used to buy our forklifts, but (TMHA Orange branch manager) Richard Bopping showed me the benefits of leasing," he said.
Mr Winwood-Smith said Midstate Freight's relationship with TMHA Orange began with a service contract.
"Richard has an outstanding group of mobile service technicians covering the mid-west region," he said.
"We've created a good business relationship and hope to develop that further.
"From my experience, Toyota forklifts are reliable and easy to operate; they're good, versatile machines."
Midstate had its beginnings with Mr Winwood-Smith running one truck between Bathurst and Mudgee.
"Four years on, we have four depots now in Bathurst, Dubbo, Mudgee and Orange, and there is always a TMHA service technician nearby," he said.
Mr Bopping said the Toyota 32-8FG25 is one of the most popular models in the Toyota internal-combustion forklift range, with important features such as the Toyota System of Active Stability (SAS).
"Selected Toyota 8-Series forklifts offer leading design and safety features, such as Automatic Fork Levelling Control to level forks during loading and Active Control Rear Stabiliser, which locks the rear axle to help reduce the potential for lateral tip-overs," he said.
Midstate Freight using their Toyota 8FG25 forklift