Material handling giant Kion Group AG will rebrand its Dematic, Egemin Automation, and NDC Automation units under a single name and begin to sell all its warehouse automation solutions under the Dematic name beginning in 2018, the company said Friday.
The plan marks the latest step in Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Dematic's integration with the two other units, which was originally announced in March. In a statement, Dematic said that selling the products under a single name will create a "one-brand strategy" that builds a larger product portfolio for the global material handling market.
German lift truck manufacturer Kion acquired Dematic in 2016 for $2.1 billion, saying the move would allow Kion to extend beyond its core businesses of providing forklifts and warehouse technology and enter the lucrative segments of warehouse automation and logistics systems integration.
Dematic, Egemin, and NDC now comprise Kion's Supply Chain Solutions segment, which offers end-to-end supply chain automation products, including high-end warehouse automation; storage, sorting, picking, and conveying solutions; automated guided vehicles (AGV); and automated forklift trucks, Kion said.
Kion acquired Belgian material handling automation provider Egemin in 2015 for $84 million, while Dematic bought Australian AGV and software vendor NDC in 2016 for an undisclosed amount.
Dematic will continue to manufacture and support the NDC products and Egemin's AGV and in-floor tow conveyors in a bid to create the next generation of AGVs and stake a claim as the frontrunner in the market for mobile automation material handling solutions, the company said.
"We are thrilled to leverage the skilled talents of our Egemin and NDC colleagues and look forward to applying their expertise as we continue to create solutions highly valued by customers," Jim Stollberg, Dematic's executive vice president for product and solution management, said in a statement. "Continuing to develop the technology to enhance operational performance will be an integral part of the complete supply chain automation offering of the Dematic brand."
