Hans-Georg Frey

Jungheinrich plans to continue expanding in growth markets, boost its market position in Europe and strengthen its engine forklift business.

The company also announced it has a positive outlook for the future as board chairman Hans-Georg Frey presented the company's future strategic development plans at the annual general meeting in Hamburg last week.

According to Jungheinrich's market intelligence, global demand for materials handling equipment posted strong growth in the first quarter of 2014, jumping 10% to 272,300 trucks, compared to the prior year's 247,200 trucks.

Europe, the company's main sales market, recorded a 7% increase. Demand in Western Europe grew 10%, while market volume in Eastern Europe declined by 7%. The Asian market expanded by 17% and the North American market by 14%.

In the first quarter of 2014, Jungheinrich posted a 12% year-on-year increase in both net sales and earnings. The group's incoming orders in new truck business accounted for 20,500 forklifts in the first quarter of 2014, 5% more than last year's corresponding figure. The value of the Jungheinrich Group's incoming orders totaled about EUR600 million (USD822 million), compared to the prior year's EUR587 million (USD804 million).

The group is conducting a series of projects to strengthen its sales organisation and further optimise costs.

"Having shifted the production of warehousing and system equipment to the Degernpoint factory, we will make substantial investments in our main plant in Moosburg, where our counterbalance trucks are produced," says Frey.

"Other focal points of our investing activities are the construction of a new training centre on the premises of the Norderstedt plant, the expansion of the used equipment centre in Dresden, the construction or acquisition of branch offices in Asia, and the establishment of a new headquarters at our main domicile in Hamburg-Wandsbek," he explains.

This year, the group's capital expenditure on tangible assets will total between EUR85 and EUR95 million (USD116 and USD 130 million).