DGAP-News: KION North America under new leadership (news

DGAP-News: KION GROUP AG / Key word(s): Change of Personnel KION North America under new leadership (news with additional features) 16.01.2015 / 16:57 --------------------------------------------------------------------- - Vincent Halma, previously Chief Sales Officer, becomes new CEO of KION North America - Brian Butler leaves the company at his own request Summerville/Wiesbaden, 16 January 2015 - The KION Group is under new management in the key growth market of North America: Vincent Halma, previously Chief Sales Officer, takes over as CEO of KION North America with effect from today. He succeeds Brian Butler, who is leaving the KION Group at his own request in order to pursue new challenges outside the company. "The KION Group is well placed to gain additional market share in North America. I would like to thank Brian Butler for his many years of successful work, which has been a considerable factor in helping us to lay these foundations in North America. In addition, Brian played a key role in the successful restructuring of the Linde Heavy Truck Division in Wales", said the Chief Executive Officer of the KION Group, Gordon Riske. "Establishing a much stronger presence for ourselves in the North American market is one of the key elements of our Strategy 2020. Vincent Halma can count on an excellent team as we strive to achieve our objective of evolving from a niche provider into a major market player." One of the world's two largest suppliers of forklift trucks, warehouse technology and associated services, the KION Group recently reached a first significant milestone in North America when Linde North America was renamed KION North America in November of last year. The KION Group operates a production plant in Summerville, South Carolina, with an annual capacity of more than 10,000 trucks, and has a nationwide sales and service network with around 100 dealers. Before moving to Summerville, Vincent Halma held the roles of Managing Director in the Netherlands and Vice President Sales for western Europe at STILL GmbH. Originally from the Netherlands, he also spent more than ten years in the United States working for a provider of cargo solutions. Brian Butler became President of Linde North America in 2005. Under the umbrella of KION North America, the brand companies Linde and STILL are to serve the requirements of the US, Canadian and Mexican markets with a comprehensive, customised and complementary product portfolio. The company's medium-term objectives include establishing a fleet management and finance system and possibly introducing an additional brand. The North American market, consisting of the USA (the world's second-largest single market), Canada and Mexico, was one of the fastest growing markets in the world in 2013, showing an 11 per cent increase in unit sales. The first nine months of last year saw a rise of just under 6 per cent, while the KION Group's unit sales climbed by more than 10 per cent. Website: kiongroup.com/mediasite Twitter: @kion_group The Company The KION Group - comprising the six brands of Linde, STILL, Fenwick, OM STILL, Baoli and Voltas - is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in western and eastern Europe, the global number two in the industry and the leading non-domestic supplier in China. The Linde and STILL brands serve the premium segment worldwide. Fenwick is the largest supplier of material handling products in France, while OM STILL is a market leader in Italy. The Baoli brand focuses on the economy segment, and Voltas is a leading provider of industrial trucks in India. The KION Group is present in more than 100 countries and, in 2013, employed over 22,000 people and generated revenue of EUR4.5 billion. KION GROUP AG has been listed on Deutsche Börse's Frankfurt Stock Exchange since June 2013 and was admitted to the MDAX, the German stock index for medium-sized companies, in September 2014. Disclaimer This document and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release. Further information for the media Michael Hauger Head of Corporate Communications KION GROUP AG Phone +49 (0)611 770 655 michael.hauger@kiongroup.com Frank Brandmaier Head of Corporate Media Relations KION GROUP AG Phone +49 (0)611 770 752 frank.brandmaier@kiongroup.com Rochelle Edwards Marketing and Communications Manager KION North America Corporation Phone +1 (843) 875-8311 rochelle.edwards@kiongroup.com Further information for investors Frank Herzog Head of Corporate Finance KION GROUP AG Phone +49 (0)611 770 303 frank.herzog@kiongroup.com Dr Karoline Jung-Senssfelder Head of Investor Relations and M&A KION GROUP AG Phone +49 (0)611 770 450 karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com +++++ Additional features: Document: http://n.equitystory.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=LIPOTBSQNU Document title: Download Press Release --------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.01.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: KION GROUP AG Abraham-Lincoln-Str. 21 65189 Wiesbaden Germany Phone: +49 (0)611 770-0 Fax: +49 (0)611 770-690 E-mail: info@kiongroup.com Internet: www.kiongroup.com ISIN: DE000KGX8881 WKN: KGX888 Indices: MDAX Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 313963 16.01.2015