Freedom of choice
July 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. More articles from Toyota Material Handling (UK) Ltd: | 
