KION Asia president CP Quek

The KION Group is expanding its footprint in the Asian materials handling market with the establishment of KION South Asia in Singapore.

"Our goal is to continually expand our marketshare in South Asia and acquire new customers across the region," says CP Quek, president of KION Asia and CEO of Linde (China).

KION South Asia will help extend the local sales and service networks of the Linde, STILL and Baoli brands. As part of KION Asia, the new entity will help the brand companies offer solutions tailored to the individual needs of customers in the region as part of KION's global multi-brand strategy.

Seng Chuan Tee, the new managing director of KION South Asia, will report to CP Quek. He will draw from the experience he has gained in previous management roles at Linde China and KIPN Asia. Prior to that, Tee worked in leading positions at General Electric Industrial Systems in the US and South East Asia and in the Eaton Electrical Division in the Asia Pacific region.

"KION South Asia will benefit from [Tee's] expertise in matters of strategy, marketing and business development," Quek says.

KION South Asia will support the three brands in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Over 2.2 billion people live in South and South East Asia.

The KION Group with its six brands - Linde, STILL, Fenwick, OM, Baoli and Voltas - is Europe's market leader in industrial trucks, and the global number two in the industry. It also claims to be the leading international supplier in China and is the first foreign forklift manufacturer to establish a presence there. The group generated about EUR4.4 billion (USD5.8 billion) in 2011 revenue.