Gordon Riske

The KION Group will employ 200 staff at the new plant it is building in the Czech Republic as part of its long-term investment program for the European market.

By 2021, a total of EUR83 million (USD112 million) will also have been invested in KION's core plants in Aschaffenburg and Hamburg in Germany. The group says it is "paving the way" for future profitable growth as the European market increases its demand for forklifts and warehouse technology.

KION CEO Gordon Riske says: "Alongside the growth markets, Europe remains the focus of our capital expenditure."

The EUR12 million (USD16 million) plant near Pilze? in the Czech Republic, which will cover an area of 20,000 sqm (214,278 sqft.), will produce economy and value trucks for the eastern and southern European markets. The ground-breaking ceremony is scheduled for October and production, initially of existing warehouse technology products, is slated to commence in early 2016.

About EUR60 million (USD81 million) will be invested in Linde Material Handling's core plant in Aschaffenburg through to 2021, and around EUR23 million (USD31 million) for the core STILL plant in Hamburg for the same period.

KION spokesman Frank Brandmaier says the investment will be used for a comprehensive number of projects, including new assembly lines, a new paint shop and new mast production.

Despite the major plant investment, there are no plans to employ more people in the German plants. "Our goal is to increase competitiveness and efficiency with the current number of employees," Brandmaier explains.

"The capital invested in our European plant structure shows that our home market of Europe continues to play a key role in our growth strategy - alongside the USA and emerging markets such as China," Riske says.

"Optimised production processes in our core plants and the new plant in the Czech Republic will not only play an important part in maintaining the leading position of the KION Group in western and eastern Europe, but will also help us to extend our reach by better meeting the needs of the value and economy segments," he adds.

Around 2,600 people work at the Linde site in Aschaffenburg and an estimated 2,100 at STILL's core plant in Hamburg.

The investment program is part of the KION Group Strategy 2020 that was launched in March (Forkliftaction.com News #660). By 2020, the KION Group aims to have closed the gap with its biggest international rival, Toyota Material Handling.