On October 25, 2010, an opening ceremony was held to celebrate the extension of Konecranes’ factory in Lingang New City, Shanghai, China. Through the extension the production area has been doubled and the target is to increase the number of lift trucks produced in the factory. Another important target has been to increase safety and efficiency in assembly.

Konecranes opened the factory in Lingang in 2007. Currently the factory assembles empty container handlers, reach stackers and heavy forklift trucks. In the beginning the products were sold to Chinese customers, today lift trucks from the Shanghai factory are also shipped to customers all over the world.

The ceremony was attended by distinguished guests from the local authorities of Lingang New City; Matti Heimonen, the Consul General of Finland; Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Konecranes Group and Ryan Flynn, Senior Vice President and Head of Konecranes region Asia-Pacific.

In his speech Pekka Lundmark highlighted that the importance of China in Konecranes’ strategy is growing all the time. “Thanks to the improved conditions and added manufacturing space in Lingang we can now take the capacity and quality to the next level”, Lundmark said.

Konecranes has about 1,600 employees in China, of which 62 work in Lingang. Konecranes’ other production sites in China are in Shanghai (hoists and cranes), Dalian (port cranes) and in Jingjiang, where crane and hoist manufacturer Sanma is based. Konecranes acquired the majority of Sanma in 2009. In addition, Konecranes has sales offices and service locations in about 20 cities in China.

Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity-enhancing lifting solutions and services for lifting equipment of every make. In 2009, Group sales totaled EUR 1,671 million. The Group has 9,800 employees, at 545 locations in 43 countries. Konecranes is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.