Thomas Toepfer

KION Group has launched a share program to allow employees to share in the company's development to a greater extent and more directly in future.

Employees in the group's participating German companies were given the chance to buy shares on special terms when the program started on 2 October. The program will expand to other countries next year, KION says.

Chief financial officer and labour relations director Thomas Toepfer says: "The abilities, experience and effort our employees put in every day represents a vast resource for the KION Group. The share program is a special way of showing our appreciation for what they deliver."

Stefanie Schneider, head of the group's human resources, says the program aims to reward employees' hard work and encourage them to remain loyal to the group.

Under the program rules, eligible employees can acquire blocks of three shares and, after a three-year holding period, receive an additional share free for each block. KION Group will fund the third share of each block of shares up to a defined upper limit the first time employees participate.

KION Group, comprising the six brands of Linde, STILL, Fenwick, OM STILL, Baoli and Voltas, is Europe's largest industrial truck manufacturer and the global number two. It is present in more than 100 countries and, in 2013, employed more than 22,000 people and generated revenue of EUR4.5 billion (USD5.7 billion).