Supply Chain · Profile from Supply Chain Research Companion
KION Group
The Frankfurt-based maker of forklift trucks and warehouse equipment (Linde, STILL, Baoli) and, through Dematic, one of the world's largest integrators of warehouse automation — carved out of Linde AG in 2006 (to KKR and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, reported), part-owned since 2012 by China's Weichai Power, listed in Frankfurt since 2013, and transformed in 2016 when it bought Dematic for an enterprise value of ~$3.25bn (share price ~$2.1bn after certain liabilities; announced 21 Jun 2016, completed 1 Nov 2016; company). Dematic, whose North American headquarters sits in Grand Rapids, Michigan (company), made KION a supplier to the US e-commerce and grocery build-out — and exposed it to integrator project risk. When inflation hit fixed-price automation contracts in 2022, KION warned in Sep 2022 of a third-quarter adjusted EBIT loss of roughly −€100m to −€140m, with Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) the hardest-hit segment, and its shares fell ~30% (reported). Order intake for automation fell in 2022–24 as e-commerce normalised; an efficiency programme completed in 2025 targets ~€150m of annual savings (company). SCS orders then rebounded +39.5% to €3.6bn in 2025, the segment was renamed Intelligent Automation Solutions (IAS) from 2026, and in the nine months to Sep 2026 KION reported revenue of €8.52bn (+3.9%) and an adjusted EBIT margin of 7.4%, while cutting its FY2026 outlook and pushing its double-digit margin target beyond 2027 (company, 29 Oct 2026).
At a glance
- Founded
- 2006 as KION Group, from Linde AG's material-handling division (Linde, STILL, OM), bought by KKR and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (reported; price ~€4bn, verify). Linde forklifts date from the 1950s and STILL from 1920 (from memory, verify); Dematic's roots include Rapistan (Grand Rapids, early 1900s, verify) and Mannesmann Demag
- Headquarters
- Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Dematic's North American head office in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Linde Material Handling North America in Summerville, South Carolina (company, verify)
- Ownership / structure
- Listed (Frankfurt: KGX, MDAX); Weichai Power (Shandong Heavy Industry, controlled by the Shandong provincial state-asset regulator) the largest shareholder at ~41–45% (reported 2022; verify current stake); free float the rest
- Leadership (2026)
- Rob Smith (CEO; succeeded Gordon Riske, CEO 2008–22 — dates verify) (company release Oct 2026 names Smith as CEO)
- Segments
- Industrial Trucks & Services (ITS): counterbalance and warehouse forklifts, service, rental, used trucks, fleet management (Linde, STILL, Baoli). Intelligent Automation Solutions (IAS) — called Supply Chain Solutions until end-2025: Dematic automation projects (conveyors, sortation, AS/RS, shuttles, goods-to-person, robotic picking, software) and their customer services
- Scale
- Group revenue ~€11.5bn (2024, implied) → €11,297m (2025, −1.8%); order intake €11,705m (2025) vs €10,321m (2024); 9M 2026 revenue €8,522m, order intake €8,445m (−4.9%); ~43,000 employees (Sep 2026) (company)
- Financials
- 2025: free cash flow €709.5m; net income €240.5m (2024 €369.2m; hit by efficiency-programme costs); SCS revenue €3,071m, adjusted EBIT €183.2m (6.0%). 9M 2026: adjusted EBIT €632.5m (7.4%), net income €309.1m, free cash flow €121.1m (company)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Carve-out from Linde (2006); Weichai investment (2012); Frankfurt IPO (2013); Dematic acquisition (2016); pandemic capital increase (2020); the 2022 profit warning on fixed-price automation projects (failure); the 2023–25 automation order slump and efficiency programme (failure / restructuring); 2025 order rebound, physical-AI partnership and the IAS rename (2025–26)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2006
Carve Out from Linde to KKR and Goldman
Divestment by the parent / leveraged buyout
2012
Weichai Investment
Financing / strategic shareholder (minority equity plus a hydraulics joint venture)
2013
Frankfurt IPO
IPO
2016
Dematic Acquisition
Acquisition
2020
Pandemic Capital Increase and KfW Line
Financing (state-backed credit line, then rights issue)
2022
Profit Warning and Fixed Price Project Losses
Disruption and response — failure (contract design and inflation)
2024
Efficiency Programme and Automation Order Slump
Restructuring — response to a failure (the 2023–24 automation order slump and weak truck demand)
2025
Order Rebound Physical AI and IAS Rename
Strategy pivot / technology bet (automation software and "physical AI"; segment rename)