The German newspaper Boersen-Zeitung has reported that the KION Group has emerged from the global financial crisis (GFC) better than expected by its creditors.

According to the paper, the group piled on high debts after a takeover by financial investors KKR and Goldman Sachs but is now well positioned to fulfill its newly agreed covenants next year.

KION Group spokesman Michael Hauger tells Forkliftaction.com News that the group agreed to technically adjust its covenants when the GFC started impacting on the global economy.

"This was a completely precautionary measure to avoid any future breach of covenants [and] was taken over a year ago," Hauger says.

"With a significant increase in our business compared to 2009, we are significantly better [at fulfilling our] covenants, which is being well perceived by our lenders but is no surprise," he adds.

The group's order intake for new forklifts has risen by more than one-third in the first half of 2010 compared to the previous year. In value terms, its order intake is up by 27%. The figure included after-sales business, which Hauger says was a stabilising factor for the company during the GFC.

"Our growth in new truck sales was driven by all regions worldwide ... Driven by the strong order intake, we are also, in terms of sales and operating results, significantly ahead of our plan for 2010," Hauger explains.

He credits the group's internal structures and the use of "short time work" in Germany for its ability to quickly adapt its capacities to the changed market demand.

The "short time work" model is used in Germany to avoid dismissals in difficult economic times. Employees are put on reduced work times during periods of low demand. Under the arrangement, employees temporarily lose some income, but do not lose their job.