Toyota buys Dutch luggage conveyor company Vanderlande in €1.2 billion deal

Toyota Industries bought Dutch luggage conveyor belt company Vanderlande for 1.2 billion euros after majority shareholder NPM Capital reached an agreement with the Japanese company, NOS reports.

Vanderlande, based in Veghel in Brabant, builds logistic transport systems for warehouses, distribution centers and transportation centers. It is one of the world leaders in baggage conveyors at airports. The company employs 4,500 people worldwide, including 1,600 in the Netherlands. In 2015 Vanderlande had a turnover of almost one billion euros.

The growing e-commerce market increased the demand for handling and parcel systems. Toyota is giving such systems priority.

Vanderlande CFO Herman Molenaar told NOS that agreements were made to safeguard jobs. "It is absolutely Toyota's intention that we are an independent division with headquarters in Veghel. We are not worried about it." He thinks it more likely that Vanderlande will end up hiring more people than that there will be layoffs. "Toyota is buying us because our market is growing. Last year we hired 700 people. In the coming year we expect to take on at least another 500 people."