David Turner

KION North America and Equipment Depot have mutually agreed to redefine their manufacturer/distributor partnership "as part of each company's long-term growth strategy".

A KION statement says that effective from July 26, Equipment Depot of Illinois and Equipment Depot of Pennsylvania will transition from full Linde dealers to authorised Linde parts and service providers.

"Rather than cutting ties entirely, we decided it was in the best interests of both companies to instead focus our efforts on select key markets," says Michael Gore, vice president of sales for KION North America.

In addition to remaining an authorised Linde dealership for the Greater Houston area, Equipment Depot of Texas will now also carry the Baoli brand, the group's newest line of forklifts.

With an established history in Ohio, Equipment Depot of Ohio will remain an authorised Linde dealership.

"This arrangement allows us to keep the focus on our customers by maintaining our best-in-class sales and services solutions as we make this transition," says David Turner, member of the executive board of Pon Holdings and president and CEO of Equipment Depot.

With newly defined parameters and clear objectives, KION North America and Equipment Depot look forward to a successful future as continued partners, the KION statement concludes.

Equipment Depot claims to be America's largest independent materials handling and rental source with 35 locations.

Besides Linde, it also handles Doosan, CLARK, Cat Lift Trucks, Hoist Liftrucks, Sellick and Jungheinrich, among other brands.