Toyota Industrial Equipment is undertaking a new construction project at its corporate headquarters in Columbus, Ind. The No. 1 forklift brand in the United States isn’t adding an additional production facility; instead, the two-story facility will house a free physical fitness center for employees and their families.
Temporarily named the Toyota Active Life Center, the facility will provide an easily accessible physical fitness center for Toyota associates and their families that will include an exercise room, indoor track, two indoor courts for basketball, volleyball and a variety of other sports, and a recreation room. The building will have all of the amenities of a modern fitness center including a yoga room, free weights, treadmills and other fitness equipment. The new facility also will include a medical center to provide primary health care, wellness coaching, physical therapy and a full line pharmacy at no cost to associates and their families.
“Sports are a big part of many people’s lives,” said Brett Wood, president and CEO of Toyota Material Handling North America. “Team sports teaches strong work ethics, leadership skills, perseverance and social skills, which translates to all aspects of life. We hope the new facility will help improve the quality of life of our associates and their families, and demonstrate our commitment to our number one asset – our Toyota team.”
The 35,000 square feet building is the latest addition to the Toyota campus, which totals more than 1.1 million square feet of manufacturing, support and office space. Toyota broke ground for the new facility this week and will hold a grand opening ceremony when construction is complete at the end of the year. Toyota is holding an internal contest to permanently name the building.
“Our goal is to build a culture centered on healthy lifestyles,” said Tony Miller, senior vice president. “We want to build a wellness and fitness center to help keep our associates and their families happy, healthy and fit, and also benefit our community.”
Last year, Toyota announced a new $16 million expansion and building renovation, which is currently underway. The expansion includes a two-story office building, a new cafeteria, a new storm shelter and locker rooms. Construction will be complete in July.