Germany-based KION Group, a multinational manufacturer of materials-handling equipment, has opened a new counterbalance truck factory in Jinan, China. Built on a site spanning 20,717m2, the new plant also features a state-of-the-art R&D centre, training facility and offices.
Adjacent to this site, the company has laid the foundation for an additional plant focused on supply chain solutions. It will be used to support local R&D, manufacture key products for the KION Group subsidiary Dematic and provide customers with access to emerging warehouse technologies. The facility will open in early 2023.
KION Group plans to invest €140m ($158.6m) in the two new facilities. In the medium term, the company plans to create more than 1,000 jobs in Jinan.
In a press release, executive board member CP Quek commented: “China offers so much growth potential for us. According to the World Industrial Truck Statistics, it accounted for about 40% of the global market for industrial trucks in 2020 in terms of unit orders. China also remains one of the world’s most important growth markets. We want to harness the potential of this important market even more effectively and significantly expand our position as a leading intralogistics supplier in China.”
