Photo: Kion Group
The Kion Group produces manually operated, semi-automatic, and fully automatic narrow-aisle order pickers and vertical order pickers for its brands in Reutlingen. The plant there is now to be expanded by around 60 percent, with an investment in the tens of millions of euros.
“We expect sustained market growth in the area of high-bay stackers and vertical order pickers and have aligned our plans accordingly,” says Kion CEO Rob Smith. During a site visit with Reutlingen's Mayor Thomas Keck, Volker Bonk, Managing Director of Kion Warehouse Systems, presented the current status of the plans.
The plan involves expanding the existing production halls and relocating the factory bypass. The goal is to extend the production area to the south. The wooded site is currently owned by the city of Reutlingen and is to be acquired by KWS. This solution, requiring minimal space, would significantly optimize internal production processes. The expansion will encompass at least 2,600 square meters, of which approximately 2,200 square meters are for the production hall expansion. Extensive investments in existing equipment and machinery, as well as a general modernization of processes at the site, are also planned. Construction is scheduled to begin in autumn 2023, pending approval from all relevant bodies, with the expanded production commencing in 2025.
The expansion of production capacity also impacts employment at the site: The workforce has grown from 250 employees in 2010 to more than 400. Currently, around 130 KWS employees come from the city of Reutlingen and approximately 280 from the Reutlingen district. This expansion will secure existing jobs and create new ones. "Reutlingen is the largest and most important location for our global business with high-bay stackers," says Volker Bonk.
Founded in 1893 as "Ernst Wagner Apparatebau" in Reutlingen, the company initially operated as a sheet metal workshop (at the time called a "Flaschnerei"). In the following decades, the company offered a comprehensive product portfolio for logistics solutions and developed into one of the leading providers in the warehouse technology vehicle market by the 1980s and 1990s. Linde AG acquired the company in 1991. Since 2006, it has been part of the KION Group. In 2010, it was renamed KION Warehouse Systems. In addition to development and production, KWS in Reutlingen also provides technical support and service, as well as sales support for demanding customer solutions. Technicians, service, and sales staff from network partners receive further training at the company's own training center.
Based on unit sales in 2021, the Kion Group is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe. In terms of revenue in 2021, the Kion Group is the leading foreign producer in China and, including domestic manufacturers, the third-largest supplier. Furthermore, based on revenue in 2021, Kion is one of the world's leading providers of warehouse automation solutions.
At the end of 2021, more than 1.6 million KION industrial trucks and over 8,000 installed systems were in operation worldwide at customer sites of various sizes across numerous industries on six continents. The Group currently employs around 40,000 people and generated sales of approximately €10.3 billion in fiscal year 2021
