The Hamburg based intralogistics company and forklift truck manufacturer STILL strengthened its engagement in the important growth market Turkey: With the acquisition of the majority participation in the STILL dealer Arser İş Makineleri Servis ve Ticaret A.Ş. ('Arser') from the Turkish Arkas Group as of May 28, 2013, the Hamburg based company has put its Turkish operations in that country on a solid foundation for the future. The acquisition remains subject to approval by the relevant authorities. The closing of the transaction is estimated to take place in the third quarter of 2013. STILL will then hold 51% of the Arser shares and the Arkas Group will hold 49%.

Turkey with its population of 74 million inhabitants is already today an important hub for European trade with the Middle East. According to Bert-Jan Knoef, Chairman of the Management Board of STILL GmbH: “Against the background of this enormous growth potential, the decision to bring our former exclusive dealer in Turkey on board and to be a shareholder in Arser, jointly with the Arkas Group, is an expression of STILL’s consistent global growth strategy.”

Arkas Group Chairman Lucien Arkas stated his view on this partnership as: “In Arkas culture, growing with partners is of significant importance. STILL’s technological superiority and know-how complements Arkas’ experience and strength in the region and will generate positive results beyond Turkey’s borders.”

In this respect the Arkas Group, with its subsidiary Arser as STILL’s authorised dealer for many years, has an impressive track record since 2001 with the two main sites at Istanbul and Izmir. With its fleet of 2,000 forklift trucks on the rental market and its share of the entire Turkish market for forklift trucks of over 10% Arkas Group is among the market leaders for forklift trucks in Turkey in the rental market. With around 6,700 employees in 61 individual companies the owner-managed Turkish Arkas Group is among the leading internationally operating ship-owners and port logistics companies.

Both partners place high value on efficient, environmentally friendly high-quality products and fast on-the-spot service – both corporate philosophies are in line. The primary objective of the shareholding is the further expansion of STILL’s market presence in the attractive Turkish market and to increase the demand from our international customers with activities in Turkey. The importance of intralogistics products and services in particular is growing steadily in Turkey, because the Turkish industry is registering high growth rates. For example, Turkey is a very important automobile manufacturer in Europe. Environmental issues are also playing an increasingly important role in Turkey, and consequently STILL with its Blue-Q energy-saving program and its hybrid forklift trucks offers the appropriate portfolio at the right time.