DGAP-News: KION Group strengthens global research and

DGAP-News: KION GROUP AG / Key word(s): Change of Personnel KION Group strengthens global research and development capability with new Executive Board role (news with additional features) 25.06.2015 / 11:38 --------------------------------------------------------------------- - Eike Böhm is to become an Executive Board member and Chief Technology Officer of KION GROUP AG with effect from 1 August - Research and development, purchasing and quality under cross-brand stewardship - CEO Gordon Riske: "We want to exploit the full potential of multi-brand synergies across our product development activities." Wiesbaden, 25 June 2015 - The KION Group is strengthening its global research and development capability by implementing a comprehensive restructuring. With effect from 1 August this year Eike M. Böhm (53) will become the fourth member of the Executive Board and, in the newly created role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO), will head up the KION Group's R&D activities as well as its purchasing and quality management. On Thursday the Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG appointed Böhm to the Executive Board for a four-year term. Böhm, who holds a PhD in engineering management, performed various managerial roles in the field of research and development at Daimler AG from 1988 onwards, eventually becoming head of global quality management for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. Between 2011 and 2012 he was in charge of product innovation and process engineering in the central research and preliminary development function at Daimler AG. From 2008 to 2011 he was a board member and director of research and development at Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, where he was responsible for successfully realigning the Japanese commercial-vehicle manufacturer's product development activities. He had previously held managerial positions at Mercedes-Benz Trucks, eventually assuming responsibility for the development of multi-brand chassis components. Böhm has also been honorary professor in the faculty of automotive engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Esslingen since 2009. The KION Group - one of the two largest suppliers of forklift trucks, warehouse technology and associated services - will in future be organising responsibility for its key technological functions across all its brands. Under this organisational structure, the CTO will bear Group-wide responsibility for all research and development activities for counterbalance trucks, warehouse technology and products for the Company's global markets as well as module and component development, innovation, product strategy, Group-wide purchasing, and quality management. In addition, he will bear dotted-line managerial responsibility for the production network of the KION Group's brand companies. Gordon Riske, CEO of the KION Group, commented: "In Eike Böhm the KION Group is gaining a Chief Technology Officer with a proven track record and a wealth of experience - for example in the development of commercial vehicles for global markets. He has also developed and implemented modular and platform strategies and has achieved demonstrable success in the field of worldwide quality management. As a member of KION's Executive Board, Eike will play a valuable role in helping to exploit the full potential of our multi-brand product development synergies, which form an integral part of our Strategy 2020. I look forward to working with him." John Feldmann, chairman of the Supervisory Board of KION GROUP AG, stressed: "Under the stewardship of Eike Böhm we are pooling the technological functions that are critical to our success going forward. In addition to the hands-on executive roles that he has performed in research, development and quality management over a number of years, Eike also brings in-depth international experience to the table. He will continue to drive the global dimension of the KION Group's R&D capability." Eike Böhm commented: "I am very much looking forward to taking on this new challenge in the KION Group. As Chief Technology Officer I will fulfil my responsibility towards our employees, customers, business partners and shareholders and I will do my utmost to help ensure that the KION Group can exploit the opportunities available in global markets to the greatest extent possible." The KION Group is a technology leader in its sector, offering best-in-class industrial trucks and services to its customers around the world across all market segments. Its total research and development spending in 2014 amounted to roughly EUR120 million, which was almost 5 per cent more than in 2013 and makes the Company the leader in its sector. 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. In May 2015 the KION Group announced plans to acquire Egemin Automation, a Belgian logistics automation specialist, which will become the Company's seventh brand. The KION Group is present in more than 100 countries and, in 2014, employed almost 23,000 people and generated revenue of around EUR4.7 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. From July 2015, KION GROUP AG will be represented in the STOXX Europe 600 index, which comprises the 600 largest companies in Europe. 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 Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 655 michael.hauger@kiongroup.com Frank Brandmaier Head of Corporate Media Relations Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 752 frank.brandmaier@kiongroup.com Further information for investors Frank Herzog Head of Corporate Finance Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 303 frank.herzog@kiongroup.com Dr Karoline Jung-Senssfelder Head of Investor Relations and M&A Tel.: +49 (0)611 770 450 karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com +++++ Additional features: Picture: http://newsfeed2.equitystory.com/kion/371935.html Subtitle: Eike Böhm wird zum 1. August 2015 Mitglied des Vorstands und Chief Technology Officer der KION GROUP AG/Eike Böhm is to become an Executive Board member and Chief Technology Officer of KION GROUP AG with effect from 1 August 2015 Document: http://n.equitystory.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=HTGKQDTIBQ Document title: Download press release as PDF --------------------------------------------------------------------- 25.06.2015 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: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 371935 25.06.2015