22 DC VELOCITY FEBRUARY 2018 www.dcvelocity.com
newsworthy
alliances
Third-party logistics service provider DSV Solutions has
chosen SSI Schaefer to create an automated fulfillment
solution for its newly redesigned e-commerce ware-
house in Brampton, Ontario. … Lancaster, Pa.-based
appliance parts retailer McCombs Supply has chosen
Descartes Systems Group’s cloud-based ShipRush solu-
tion for its multicarrier parcel shipping operations. …
WestRock, a paper and packaging company, has select-
ed Wagner Logistics to operate its DC in Virginia to
cut costs and enhance productivity while maintaining
customer service levels. … Seegrid, a manufacturer of
self-driving vehicles for material handling applications,
has selected Bell and Howell to manage its field invento-
ry and provide services on products installed at customer
sites in the U.S. and Canada. In other Bell and Howell
news, custom packaging solutions specialist Packsize
International has selected Bell and Howell as a pre-
ferred partner to provide service and support for a wide
range of corrugated on-demand packaging machines.
… Crowley Maritime has gone live with CitadelMC,
Tideworks Technology Inc.’s cloud-based SaaS termi-
nal operating system, at its Jacksonville terminal in
Florida. … Third-party logistics service provider Carter
Distribution has selected the Snapfulfil cloud WMS to
manage its warehouse in Salt Lake City. … Radial, an
omnichannel commerce technology provider, has part-
nered with cloud software company Blue Ridge Global
to develop a solution aimed at helping retailers position
inventory across locations and more accurately match
supply with demand.
Kion AG takes minority stake
in Chinese truck maker EP
Equipment
German material handling equipment supplier Kion Group
AG said it will acquire a minority ownership stake in
Chinese manufacturer EP Equipment Co. Ltd. as part of
Kion’s strategy to expand its presence in the light-duty or
“entry level” warehouse equipment market both in China
and worldwide.
The Chinese industrial truck market expanded by 40
percent in the first nine months of 2017, according to Kion.
Warehouse trucks were a major factor in this growth, with
the entry-level version playing a particularly important role,
driven by increasing demand for greater mechanization and
equipment upgrades, Kion said.
In a 2016 survey, the Industrial Truck Association (ITA)
ranked China third among global markets with the greatest
potential for lift truck growth over the next three years,
behind India and Mexico. In 2015, China ranked seventh.
The EP partnership will “allow us to extend our product
offering to a much wider range of customers,” said Kion
Group CEO Gordon Riske at a ceremony marking the signing of the agreement.
Kion is no stranger to China. In 1993, it became one of
the first German companies to make direct investments
in China when the Linde Group, whose material handling
business was rebranded in 2006 as Kion Group, established
production, sales and service, and research and develop-
ment operations in Xiamen. In 2009, Kion acquired Baoli
Forklift Co. to penetrate the Chinese “economy lift truck”
Kion touts itself as the largest non-Chinese company in
the lift truck market.
EP Equipment was founded in 1999 by He Jinhui, who
remains its chairman. The company employs more than
1,000 people around the world and is prominent in the
Chinese and U.S. markets. In 2017, EP Equipment shipped
more than 50,000 units, a record for the company.
Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close
during the year, were not disclosed.
Americold, a provider of temperature-controlled
warehousing and logistics services to the food industry, has opened a new building at its Clearfield, Utah,
campus. The facility adds more than 9. 5 million cubic
feet of temperature-controlled warehouse space,
bringing the campus’s total capacity to nearly 21
million cubic feet. … Pilot Freight Services, a provider
of transportation and logistics services, has opened a
new 70,000-square-foot warehouse in Las Vegas that
features 32-foot ceilings, 20 dock doors, and sophisticated climate control. … Third-party logistics service
provider ITS Logistics has added 280,000 square feet
of AIB-certified food-grade warehouse space to its
network, bringing its total footprint in Northern
Nevada to 980,000 square feet. The new space is
part of a dedicated facility ITS Logistics operates for
Starbucks Coffee Co.
ground breakers
