To show appreciation to the local community for its support during the company's ten years of manufacturing, Toyota Industrial Equipment Mfg., Inc. (TIEM) today announced the establishment of an annual scholarship through the Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County, Inc.

Beginning next year, a graduate from one of the area's high schools -- Columbus North, Columbus East or Hauser – will benefit from a $2,500 scholarship.

"This gift is a way Toyota can give back to the community that has given us so much," said Yoshimitsu Ogihara, TIEM president. Indiana Lieutenant Governor Joe Kernan, community leaders and Toyota officials joined TIEM's 500 associates in marking a decade of production at the Columbus facility. Since 1990, the plant has more than tripled its initial employment, increased production more than ten-fold and doubled in size.

Investment at the plant is now more than $100 million, and this year TIEM will build more than 22,000 forklift trucks. TIEM associates also were recognized for their efforts with an announcement that construction will begin in mid-August for a 1,100-square-foot exercise room. Associates and their spouses will be able to use the facility, which will include professional equipment within 14 different stations.

TIEM produces electric-powered and internal combustion forklifts for the U.S. market as well as for export to Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Thailand and Venezuela. In the United States, the forklifts are sold through 85 Toyota Industrial Equipment dealerships nationwide. More than 85 percent of the forklifts Toyota sells in America are built at the Columbus plant. Toyota is the best-selling brand of forklift truck in the world.

Toyota Motor Corporation

Toyota Motor Corporation

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