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SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — KION North America announces its entrance into the North American warehouse market with an unprecedented launch of a full line that includes new Linde warehouse equipment, tested and proven automation of a Linde Very Narrow Aisle Vehicle, powered by Dematic, and the first fully-integrated fleet asset management software. The announcement was made at the 2019 ProMat Show in Chicago, Illinois—the largest expo for manufacturing and supply chain professionals in North America with more than 1,000 exhibitors from all over the world.

Together with its sister company Dematic—the global leader in intelligent supply chain and automated solutions—the company has a combined booth space of 12,000 square feet. Visitors are receiving the first look at eight new Linde brand warehouse vehicles and demonstration of a Linde Very Narrow Aisle Vehicle, powered by Dematic.

“KION Group has continued to provide the global market with the latest in intelligent supply chain solutions. Now, with the releases of the full warehouse line of Linde and Dematic’s advanced mobile automation technology, we can offer these solutions to the North American market," said Susanna Schneeberger, Chief Digital Officer of KION GROUP AG.

“Today’s supply chains are increasingly fragmented, involving lots of individual processes, often at different locations across the globe. With our smart trucks, our data management solutions, and our intelligent warehouse systems, we ensure our customers’ supply chains run smoothly and efficiently,” said Hasan Dandashly, CEO of Dematic.

As the global leader in AGV technology, KION Group members KION North America and Dematic are taking this technology and are introducing it to industrial trucks, providing more affordable and reliable hybrid mobile automated supply chain solutions. The advantages of using this technology with industrial forklifts include lower operating costs and flexibility.

"From a macroeconomic standpoint, automation can solve multiple issues with a stable process that allows forklift trucks to operate with hybrid automation," added Vincent Halma, CEO of KION North America.

Meaning you can operate with a driver, run multiple shifts and also automate the trucks when needed. Additionally, the cost of automation is much less on an industrial forklift, offering a significantly lower cost of ownership.

By using Dematic’s asset management software, Sprocket, customers can connect to automation software and merge forklift truck data with enterprise resource planning system (ERP) data in one easy-to-use management program allowing for less downtime and better cost management.

With this launch, KION North America can now offer a full range of material handling solutions specifically for the North American market. To accommodate production of the new warehouse line, the company is expanding its Summerville, South Carolina facility which currently employees over 250 dedicated team members.

“This is just the beginning of what KION North America can offer to this market,” said Halma. “With Dematic, we will continue to focus on and develop the best solutions for our customer's needs."

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