KION Group and Quicktron agree strategic partnership

- KION Group signs a distribution agreement and a memorandum of understanding on plans for joint development with the Chinese manufacturer, with the aim of expanding the offering of mobile automation solutions

- Intralogistics group is seeking a minority stake in the Chinese company

- KION Group CEO Gordon Riske: "The collaboration with Quicktron is going to further strengthen our position in the market for automated trucks"

Frankfurt/Xiamen, August 5, 2020 - KION GROUP AG has entered a strategic partnership with Quicktron, a young Chinese manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots (AMR) based in Shanghai.

Representatives from both companies recently met in Xiamen, China, to sign a distribution agreement as well as a memorandum of understanding on their joint development plans. Under the agreement, and effective immediately, Quicktron products are to be distributed via the global sales and service networks of the KION brands Linde Material Handling, STILL and Dematic. The arrangement expands KION Group's global product offering of automated warehouse solutions. The leading intralogistics group also plans to acquire a minority stake of less than 10 percent in Quicktron. The partners have agreed not to disclose the size of the investment.

"We are delighted to be forming this strategic partnership with Quicktron. We can offer our customers an even more extensive product range in the automated truck segment," said KION GROUP AG CEO, Gordon Riske, at the signing, adding, "The collaboration with Quicktron is expected to further strengthen our position in the automated truck market."

"Quicktron is a leading autonomous mobile robot manufacturer in China and has been growing steadily," notes Ching Pong Quek, KION GROUP AG Executive Board member and Chief Asia Pacific & Americas Officer. "It perfectly complements our skills and experience in the KION Mobile Automation business. The collaboration unlocks additional opportunities to participate in this global growth market and provides our customers with a unique product offering."

"This is a historic day for Quicktron," said Yang Wei, Quicktron CEO. "I look forward to our collaboration with the KION Group. It will enable us to harness our combined strengths to exploit market opportunities in China and around the world even more effectively."

Quicktron was established in Shanghai in 2014 and currently employs around 400 individuals worldwide. It offers smart intralogistics solutions using technology based on artificial intelligence (AI).

The market for automated supply chain solutions is growing rapidly, both in the Asia-Pacific region and around the world. The growth of e-commerce is a significant driver of demand for supply chain solutions, including warehouse automation and solutions for sorting and for automated goods transport. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) will thus become increasingly common. KION Group's Mobile Automation business brings together all activities relating to the future trend of mobile automation and self-driving vehicles. Automation is one of the fields of action in the KION 2027 strategy, which also includes energy, digitalization, innovation and performance. The strategy is designed to guide the company on a path towards profitable growth and the expansion of its position as an industry leader.

The Company

The KION Group is one of the world's leading intralogistics providers for supply chain solutions. Its portfolio encompasses industrial trucks, such as forklift trucks and warehouse trucks, as well as integrated automation technology and software solutions for the optimization of supply chains, including all related services. Across more than 100 countries worldwide, the KION Group's solutions improve the flow of material and information within factories, warehouses, and distribution centers. The Group, which is included in the MDAX, is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe and the second largest worldwide. It is also a leading provider of automation technology.

The KION Group's world-renowned brands are among the industry leaders. Dematic, the newest addition to the KION Group, is a global leader in automated material handling, providing a comprehensive range of intelligent supply chain and automation solutions. The Linde and STILL brands serve the premium industrial truck segment. Baoli focuses on industrial trucks in the value segment. Among KION's regional industrial truck brand companies, Fenwick is the largest supplier of material handling products in France and OM Voltas is a leading provider of industrial trucks in the Indian market.

With an installed base of more than 1.5 million industrial trucks and over 6,000 installed systems, the KION Group's customers include companies in all industries and of all sizes on six continents. The KION Group currently operates 25 production sites in eleven countries, including eight in Germany. The Group has more than 35,000 employees - including around 10,500 in Germany - and generated revenue of €8.8 billion in 2019.

Current KION Group images can be found at our image database: https://mediacenter.kiongroup.com/categories and on the websites of our respective brands.

(jn/fgr)

Disclaimer

This release and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions (including with respect to further developments in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic), regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

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