DC Velocity - March 2016

30 DC VELOCITY MARCH 2016 www.dcvelocity.com newsworthy

Kion Group, Egemin subsidiary acquire Retrotech Inc.

In a move highlighting the trend toward bringing material handling equipment and systems integration under a single provider’s umbrella, Kion Group has agreed to acquire Retrotech, a U.S. systems integrator owned by France’s Savoye S.A.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Retrotech focuses on engineering, project management, and installation of order fulfillment and storage systems and associated software and has customers in the food, consumer goods, pharmaceutical, and automotive industries as well as in e-commerce and retail. It is best known for warehouse retrofits and modernizing existing automated material handling systems. Kion Group said it will retain the Retrotech name.

German multinational Kion Group, which says it is the world’s second-largest supplier of forklifts, warehouse technology, and associated services, will use the acquisition to strengthen its position in automated warehouse systems in North America. The deal, valued at around $40 million, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of

2016, the companies said in a statement. Retrotech will
become an operating unit of Egemin Group Inc., based in
Holland, Mich., and its Egemin Automation brand. Egemin
Automation designs and manufactures automated guided
vehicles and autonomous forklifts.
Retrotech, with around 140 employ-
ees and revenue of about $70 million
in 2015, will be the eighth company
in Kion Group’s international stable.
Egemin, acquired last May, was the
seventh. Other Kion brands include
Linde, Fenwick, and Voltas.
European suppliers of material han-
dling equipment and automated sys-
tems have long focused on “intralogistics”—the integrated
processes and flow of materials within warehouses and
distribution centers. As demand for automated material
handling and order fulfillment systems grows, equipment
providers increasingly are moving beyond their original
business models and are getting involved in the integration
of these complex systems and associated software.

—B.A.

Integration GBI Intralogistic Solutions 1143 West Newport Center Drive Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 USA www.gbisorters.com Tel: + 1 (954) 596-5001 Fax: + 1 (954) 596-5015 Meet us at