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Kion acquires Dematic for $2.1 billion

Deal expands German forklift giant's foothold in North American material handling market.

Kion Group AG, the world's second-largest manufacturer of industrial trucks, will acquire U.S.-based systems integrator Dematic Corp. for $2.1 billion, the companies said today.

Buying Dematic allows Germany-based Kion to expand its footprint in the North American market, and offer a range of material handling services that extend beyond Kion's core businesses in forklifts and associated warehouse technology, to warehouse automation and logistics systems integration, Kion said.


Once the deal closes, Atlanta-based Dematic will form a separate operating unit of Kion, along with Holland, Mich.-based Egemin Automation Inc. and West Henrietta, N.Y.-based Retrotech Inc. The unit is to be led by Ulf Henriksson, Dematic's current CEO.

By adding Dematic's nearly 6,000 employees and $1.8 billion in 2015 revenue, Kion will be a $7.5 billion organization with about 30,000 employees.

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