Jungheinrich AG is establishing a company to refurbish the group's used forklifts.

In a statement announcing its 2005 financial results, the group said the Dresden plant, Jungheinrich's sales & service base for the Dresden region in Leipzig, Germany, would be the central refurbishment location for used forklifts.

More than 50 people will work for the new company. Jungheinrich says it will provide details of its used forklift business at a Hamburg press conference on April 11.

The group reported consolidated sales of EUR1,645 million (USD1,978 million), up seven per cent from 2004's EUR1,531 million (USD1,841 million).

Jungheinrich said the global market for industrial trucks expanded 6.4 per cent to 749,000 vehicles in 2005.

The group's earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) jumped 22 per cent from EUR87.4 million (USD105.1 million) in 2004 to EUR106.9 million (USD128.5 million) in 2005. Net earnings increased from EUR49.3 million (USD59.3 million) in 2004 to EUR62.1 million (USD74.7 million) in 2005.