Thermote & Vanhalst
| Industry | internal transport |
|---|---|
| Founder | Paul Thermote & Paul Vanhalst |
| Headquarters | Brabantstraat 15, 8790 Waregem, Belgium |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Paul Thermote – president |
| Products |
spare parts and accessories for forklift trucks, aerial work platforms, agricultural tractors and industrial in-plant vehicles. |
| Revenue | €836 million (2013) |
Number of employees | 3,800 |
| Website | TVH |
TVH – Group Thermote & Vanhalst is a Belgian company active in the market of forklift trucks, aerial work platforms, agricultural tractors and industrial in-plant vehicles. The company is a global player in the distribution of forklift trucks and the sales of spare parts. The international company has its headquarters along the E17 in the West-Flemish city of Waregem.
History
TVH is a family business that was founded in 1969 in Gullegem by Paul Thermote & Paul Vanhalst, both descendants from an agricultural family. The company is currently led by the second generation.
Initially the company concentrated on the purchase, repair and sales of agricultural machinery and former military lift trucks. During the first couple of years, the field of activity for the purchase of used lift trucks was mainly focussed on Belgium and the surrounding countries. The European market however soon be-came too small and as a result the company shifted a part of its focus to Japan. Thousands of used forklift trucks were purchased there, after which they were repaired and sold all over Europe. From this originated the demand for spare parts for the repairs, which later developed into the main activity of the group: the sales of forklift spare parts.
The group experienced a strong growth in both turnover and work force. For the company grew from 96 employees in 1989 to more than 400 employees by the end of the 90's, to 3800 employees at the beginning of 2013.
Activities
The company is active in more than 170 countries worldwide. In addition to the head office in Waregem, TVH has a regional head office for America in Olathe, Kansas (TVH Parts Co.). TVH is divided in 2 important activities: Parts & Accessories and Rental & Equipment. This last activity is composed of 3 divisions, i.e. the Equipment Division (sales of new and used lift trucks and aerial work platforms), the Rental Division (short- and long-term rental of lift trucks and aerial work platforms) and the Service & Repair Division. The Rental Division is active in countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and many other European countries. The Service & Repair Division is a service TVH only offers in Belgium. The Parts & Accessories Division and the Equipment Division are both active across the five continents with own branches and local stock in the main regions. Furthermore TVH also has a training centre providing driver and technical trainings. The unequalled know-how of TVH's Parts Division is reflected by a database of 20,000,000 article numbers, of which well over 500,000 references are in stock. Thanks to the MyTotalSource webshop, TVH's customers can obtain information about the availability of the parts 24/7.