Kalmar Industries is being restructured to increase its competitiveness, and has said there will be "personnel implications" relating to ramping up the company's efficiency worldwide.

Under the plans, announced this month, every Kalmar product will have a product supply centre, which will be responsible for customer-driven product development, marketing and production. Kalmar's range remains unchanged.

The five largest centres will be in Tampere, Finland, (straddles, rubber-tyred gantries and four-wheel-drive terminal tractors), Lidhult, Sweden (reach stackers and container handlers), Ljungby, Sweden (forklifts), Rotterdam, the Netherlands (ship-to-shore cranes and RMG-cranes), and Kansas, USA, (terminal tractors). Kalmar's terminal tractor plant in Texas, USA, will close this year, with the Tampere and Shanghai plants taking over production.