KION Group is continuing to consolidate its European factories to ensure its competitiveness and long-term stability.

Group CEO Gordon Riske says the consolidation is an "ongoing process, necessary to ensure the long-term competitiveness" of KION's existing European manufacturing base.

Riske says KION aims to fully utilise the capacity of its plants and to improve its manufacturing flexibility. "BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) markets are significantly gaining relative weight on a global perspective, whereas Western European markets are consolidating, and the competitive landscape has changed."

Manufacturing of warehouse trucks in Europe will concentrate on two sites - Châtellerault (France) and Luzzara (Italy). The Châtellerault warehouse equipment plant employs about 470 people, while Luzzara employs 170. Production at another French warehouse equipment plant at Montataire will be relocated to Luzzara. There are currently 188 production workers at Montataire.

Production of Still and OM counterbalance trucks will be consolidated at KION's Hamburg site, redirected from the Bari plant which employs about 320 people.

KION says it is engaging in open consultations and negotiations with trade unions and employee representatives in France and Italy. Employees in Montataire and Bari will be offered jobs at other KION sites.

Asked how much KION hopes to save through the consolidation, KION spokeswoman Michaela Meier said the figure is confidential for competitive reasons.

KION claims it will still have the strongest European production footprint in the industry, with factories in all major national markets after consolidation.

In April, KION announced plans to build a new factory for counterbalance trucks for the South American market in São Paulo, Brazil. KION already operates a warehouse equipment plant in Rio de Janeiro. KION has also invested in high-capacity production infrastructure in China with the Linde plant in Xiamen and the Baoli plant in Jingjiang, which manufacture mainly for the Asian market. KION's operations in India are based on the joint venture company Voltas Material Handling, which launched its operations in May 2011.

"Our aim is to be present in all the key markets with the production, sales, and service structures appropriate to each respective market close to the customer," Riske says. "We are therefore continuing with our ongoing development of manufacturing capabilities in the Asian and South American growth markets in response to the growing significance of these markets for our business."

The KION Group comprises six brands - Linde, Still, Fenwick, OM, Baoli and Voltas. In 2010, the group employed around 20,000 people and generated revenue of more than EUR3.5 billion (USD4.9 billion).