Thermote & Vanhalst

Infobox Company
company_name = TVH Group Thermote & Vanhalst
foundation = 1969
location = Brabantstraat 15
8790 Waregem, België
key_people = Paul Thermote & Paul Vanhalst - Oprichters
Paul Thermote - CEO
num_employees = 2.200
revenue = €475 million (2007)
products = Spare parts for fork lift trucks, Telescopic lift trucks, Aerial platforms
Sales of fork lift trucks
homepage = [http://www.TVH.com/ TVH]

TVH Group Thermote & Vanhalst is a Belgian company in the fork lift truck market. The company is a global player in the distribution of lift trucks and the sales of forklift spares. The international company has its head office along the E17 in the West-Flemish city of Waregem.

History

TVH is a family company that was founded in Gullegem in 1969 by Paul Thermote and Paul Vanhalst, both originating from an [agriculture|agricultural] family. It is currently being managed by the second generation.

Initially the company engaged in the purchase, repair and sales of agricultural machinery and old army trucks. During the first couple of years the field of activity for the purchase of used lift trucks mainly concentrated on Belgium and Germany. The European market became too small and because of this the attention was focused on Japan. Thousands of second-hand lift trucks were purchased in Japan, then repaired and sold in Europe. This created the demand for spare parts for repair, which eventually became the main activity of the TVH group: the sales of lift truck parts.

The group experienced a strong growth in turnover, but also in employees. The group grew from 96 employees in 1989 to more than 400 employees around the end of the 90’s, to well over 2000 employees in 2008.

Activities

The company is active all over the world. In addition to the headquarters in Waregem, the group also has a regional headquarters for America in Kansas (SMH). Furthermore the company has subsidiaries, branches and sales outlets in more than 30 countries world-wide.

TVH has different business units. The Parts Division sells spare parts, the Forklift Division sells new and second-hand lift trucks, the Handling Equipment Division sells smaller hand pallet trucks and warehouse trolleys, the Rental Division rents lift trucks and aerial platforms, and the Service & Repair Division carries out maintenance work with the customers.

External links

* [http://www.tvh.com/ Official TVH website]