KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 7): Terberg Tractors Malaysia (TTM) spends about RM100 million annually with over 200 local suppliers — roughly half its materials spending — to keep pace with demand for terminal tractors, which are vital to global trade at ports and logistics hubs worldwide. 

"These include Malaysian companies supplying key components such as engines and transmissions. TTM is also developing local suppliers to participate in Terberg's global supply chain for cabin and chassis production," read a statement on Tuesday.

The company, a 50:50 joint venture between Sime Darby Industrial Sdn Bhd and the Netherlands-based Royal Terberg Group BV, began as a local distribution arrangement in 1999 and has grown into a full manufacturing and export operation. 

As of end-June 2026, TTM has shipped more than 8,000 terminal tractors built in Malaysia to customers in over 50 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, according to the statement.

Its Pasir Gudang, Johor, facility serves as Terberg's Asia Pacific regional centre, handling manufacturing, assembly, supply chain management, regional distribution, product support and R&D. Annual production capacity stands at 1,000 units, supported by a fully local workforce of more than 300 Malaysians. 

Sime Darby Bhd (KL:SIME) group chief executive officer Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson said: “A Malaysian team in Pasir Gudang is building specialist industrial vehicles that port operators across the world rely on to keep their operations running, and that is something to be proud of. 

“This has been built over decades of consistent investment in people, facilities and partnerships. TTM’s continued growth reflects the kind of high-value industrial capability that can support the aspirations of the national GEAR-uP agenda.”

TTM has pushed into battery-powered electric terminal tractors, launching the YT200EV in 2022 and the next-generation YT201EV in May 2026, with over 300 units sold globally to date. 

It co-developed a new cabin design with Terberg in the Netherlands, delivering a 10% performance gain at lower construction cost. Since 2024, TTM has invested over RM12 million in facility upgrades, including a blasting and painting shop, warehouse expansion and laser equipment. 

An integrated automated line handles both diesel and electric tractor assembly, and the site features an automatic blasting system, a first within the Terberg Group. 

TTM is also advancing digital tools, with its Terberg Connect telematics system installed on 7,000 units globally, and is working with partners on autonomous terminal tractors. 

The company invests in developing its Malaysian workforce through leadership and technical programmes to support increasingly advanced manufacturing.