On December 2, Man Shengang, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Shandong Heavy Industry Group, met with Hans Peter Linge, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KION Group, and Rob Smith, CEO of KION Group, in Jinan. During the meeting, Man Shengang received a detailed briefing on the construction of the KION Supervisory Board and the company’s 2024 operational performance. They also discussed strategic planning, key initiatives for 2025, and ways to deepen collaboration. Wang Zhijian, Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of Shandong Heavy Industry Group, attended the meeting.
KION Group is a global leading provider in the field of industrial trucks and supply chain solutions. It is listed on MDAX, Germany’s mid-cap index, with business operations spanning over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Its brands include Linde, Dematic, Baoli, and STILL. Weichai Power, a subsidiary of Shandong Heavy Industry, made a strategic investment in KION Group in 2012, creating a benchmark model of Sino-German corporate cooperation for mutual benefit. Amidst fierce global market competition this year, KION Group has maintained positive growth. In the first three quarters, it recorded operating revenue of EUR 8.435 billion, achieving a counter-cyclical increase. Its adjusted EBIT reached EUR 666.7 million, a 16.6% year-on-year increase, significantly boosting its profitability. The efficient commencement of operations at the KION forklift plant in Jinan and the Dematic intelligent logistics equipment plant in Jinan have injected robust momentum into KION’s global market expansion.
Man Shengang affirmed KION Group’s achievements, noting that the company’s high-quality development provides essential support for Shandong Heavy Industry’s pursuit of stable and sustained progress in 2024. He emphasized that both parties are aligned in goal and direction, resonating at the same frequency to achieve synergistic growth. As Shandong Heavy Industry’s largest overseas investment with the greatest asset scale, and one of its six strategic business segments, KION Group has always enjoyed the Group’s unwavering support to become stronger, better, and larger. In the face of the daunting challenges presented by new energy, digital intelligence, and globalization, Man Shengang encouraged KION Group to remain confident, proactive, united, and motivated. He urged the company to set even more ambitious targets, striving to capture market share, optimize its global layout, adjust its industrial structure, and enhance quality and efficiency, thereby creating improved performance and forging a brighter future. He stressed the need for technology-driven development, urging KION Group to remain at the industry’s forefront. By adopting an open mindset and conducting comprehensive benchmarking, the Group should leverage its strengths, address shortcomings, and strengthen weak links to ensure its product competitiveness, technological innovation, and brand influence continue to lead the industry’s development. Additionally, he called for enhanced resource coordination and strengthened market advantages. KION Group and Shandong Heavy Industry should jointly build, share, and create opportunities in areas such as innovation, efficiency, cost control, and market channels to further tap into potential synergies and collective strengths. Finally, he emphasized the importance of bolstering strategic mutual trust and ensuring efficient, scientific operations. By vigorously promoting the ethos of “United as One, Aligned in Purpose, Striving Together, and Bound to Succeed”, both sides should achieve a high level of mutual trust in ideology, deep interaction in action, mutually reinforcing cooperation in development, and coordinated win-win outcomes in objectives. Both parties must tirelessly work together toward their shared vision and goals.
Zhang Gengsheng and Ma Changhai, both members of the Party Committee and Deputy General Managers of Shandong Heavy Industry Group, as well as Guo Jinpeng, Member of the KION Board of Management, Chief Technology Officer, and President of Industrial Trucks & Services in the Asia-Pacific region, attended the meeting.