A successful year in 2010

Consistent growth strategies
Becoming a solution provider
A technological leader when it comes to energy efficiency, safety and re-source preservation

"2010 was much better for Linde Material Handling than expected and we are well prepared for further growth in 2011", explained Theodor Maurer, Chairman of the Linde Material Handling GmbH Management Board, at the start of this year's press conference in Aschaffenburg. "We were able to quite significantly increase our order intake in 2010 and it is very likely that we will soon be able to reach the level we were at before the financial crisis."

Maurer expects that the world market for industrial trucks will increase to over one million vehicles by 2014. With 800,000 units in 2010, the market had already once more reached a level of over 80 percent of the previous record year of 2007; however the CEO of LMH is not satisfied with just reaching the same level as before the crisis. According to Maurer, "The whole company will be consistently structured for further growth".

In doing so, the Chairman of LMH will be building on the foundations laid by the "extensive product pipeline" and the growth initiatives that have already been introduced and implemented in Sales, Service and Development. Significant driving forces for growth include the development of new energy efficient and technologically leading products, the expansion of services, as well as the continuous development of the company into a "solution provider".

When it comes to products LMH is, amongst other things, setting new benchmarks in energy efficiency, performance and customer benefits with its pioneering E-forklifts. The E-forklift series with a lifting capacity of between two to five tonnes will be on show for the first time at CeMAT 2011 — the higher lifting capacity category of 3.5 to 5 tonnes will then follow in the autumn of 2011. Over a dozen technical innovations are aimed at economical energy consumption, high productivity, driver safety and convenience, and therefore good value for the customer. With around 19 different standard model versions — whether they are shorter, longer, taller or flatter — there is always the perfect truck to meet any conditions. Furthermore LMH also offers a new logistics chain espe-cially for internal logistics. The heavy trucks with a lifting capacity of between10 to 18 tonnes is another product highlight, which will provide an important boost to the heavy forklift division of Linde MH.

Maurer attributes the success of the previous year primarily to the technological and economic strengths of the products as well as the clear service orientation of the company. "During the crisis it was clear that the customer valued the strong service orientation that Linde Material Handling offers and that was why we were even able to gain market share in Germany and western Europe. Maurer also sees great potential for the future, which can be drawn out through qualitative and quantitative expansion of stan-dardised customer services, fleet management services, as well as in the area of leasing new and used vehicles.

Alongside the strong home markets in Europe, the growth markets outside Europe are becoming increasingly important for LMH. With the targeted development of customised products and services for Asia, South America and eastern Europe, Linde MH intends to continue to increase its share of new business in these growth markets. Currently its share is well over 25 percent.

Through production locations in Xiamen/China and Sao Paulo (KION), the company has an excellent production platform for the continued development of these growth regions. This includes the expansion of the product range as well as targeted investments in production, processes and development.

The fact that Linde Material Handling deals with more than just industrial trucks is underlined by the company's strengthening of external business in the area of Linde Hydraulics, which counts among its customers — in addition to its internal forklift customers— some leading international manufacturers of agricultural technology and construction machines.

"Drive technology has survived having hit rock bottom and the markets are now recovering across the world", Maurer explains. "We have first class products and can confidently look forward to growth in the coming years." Maurer promises an important boost through the sales partnership with Eaton Corporation. The global sales alliance should provide a significantly improved market presence and better resulting business. The first months were extremely promising; several new projects emerged in Asia and North America. Here Eaton markets the Linde 02 pumps and motors product lines under the new product name "DuraForce", which characterises the robustness and reliability of these drive components.

"All things considered we have a clear objective: to expand Linde's position as number one in Europe and to be the most successful global premier supplier of products and services for the industrial trucks sector," explains Theodor Maurer, setting out the high aspirations of the company.