IN AN INDUSTRY OFTEN DEFINED BY POWER AND PRECISION, KION NORTH AMERICA STANDS APART FOR SOMETHING MORE INTANGIBLE: ITS COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS INNOVATION. FROM ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING TO A CULTURE THAT VALUES CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, KION NA’S APPROACH IS ONE OF GLOBAL COLLABORATION, LOCAL EXECUTION, AND DEEP CUSTOMER FOCUS. AT THE COMPANY’S CAMPUS IN SUMMERVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, INNOVATION IS NOT AN ABSTRACT GOAL, BUT A LIVING SYSTEM THAT CONNECTS PEOPLE, TECHNOLOGY, AND PURPOSE.
Innovation Through Collaboration
For KION NA, innovation begins with connection: not just within its teams, but across continents. The company’s integration within the KION Group, one of the world’s largest material handling organizations, allows its U.S. operations to tap into a global network of engineering, manufacturing, and industrial expertise.
This global framework ensures that every innovation at KION North America benefits from international best practices yet is refined for the specific needs of its regional markets. “We’re sharing technologies and best practices around the world,” said Christian Loew, Vice President of Product Development. “Global collaboration is a very important part of what we do. We take something good and make it really tailored to the market.”
That tailoring is essential. From Europe to Asia to North America, forklift applications are vastly different. By combining the global insights of KION Group with local engineering acumen, KION North America ensures its innovations are not only advanced but designed specifically for the customers it serves.
Customer-Driven Innovation
KION NA’s approach is never “innovation for innovation’s sake.” Instead, it starts with the voice of the customer: understanding real-world needs and creating measurable solutions. “Innovation must deliver measurable value,” explained Loew. “It’s not about adding complexity or making something expensive. It’s about solving problems efficiently.”
That mindset led to a breakthrough project for one of North America’s largest equipment rental providers transitioning its fleet from internal combustion to electric trucks. Faced with challenges around charger management and battery changes, KION NA developed an integrated charging system that allowed trucks to plug directly into standard 110-volt outlets or EV charging stations. The solution was practical, fast, and built with the customer’s operations in mind.
The same philosophy drives KION NA’s focus on modularity and customization in their products. Like the automotive industry’s shared platforms, KION NA is designing flexible systems that can adapt to multiple customer needs while improving efficiency, reducing costs, and shortening time to market. It’s this dual focus of customization for customers and standardization for scale that positions KION NA as both nimble and reliable in a rapidly evolving market.
Project HomeTurf: Building Innovation at Home
Perhaps no initiative better captures KION North America’s innovative spirit than Project HomeTurf, an ambitious multi-year effort to onshore production and strengthen local supply chains. Launched in response to rising global complexity and the need for agility, HomeTurf represents a decisive investment in U.S.-based manufacturing of over $80 million since 2022, with the goal of standing up a product line designed for and built in North America.
According to Daniel Schlegel, Vice President of Operations & Aftermarket Distribution, the project’s value goes beyond cost efficiency. “It was about being more flexible and more competitive,” he said. “By producing locally, we reduce complexity, shorten response times, and gain better control of our quality.”
The transformation has been substantial. The Summerville plant now features state-of-the-art robotic welding systems and high-precision machining processes. Teams of welders were sent overseas to the KION Group’s plant in the Czech Republic to train on advanced robotic equipment before returning to implement those skills at home. This exchange exemplifies how KION NA’s global collaboration fuels local innovation.
The result? Faster production, higher quality, and a new level of vertical integration that empowers KION North America to design and build key components in-house. The development of the Linde quad mast, for example, shows what capabilities Project HomeTurf unlocked for the manufacturer. A quad mast is a feature which allows a forklift to lift much higher, at the sacrifice of losing driver visibility due to the thicker mast.
Because of the new mast production equipment, KION NA was able to design a quad mast which offered a 56% improvement on field of vision. What began as an effort to improve supply chain resilience evolved into a showcase of engineering advancement.
The Human Side of Innovation
At its core, KION North America’s innovation strategy is about people; not just those who operate the equipment, but those who design, build, and improve it every day. The company believes that innovation thrives when employees are encouraged to think differently, take risks, and learn from experience.
Both Daniel Schlegel and Christian Loew emphasized that cultivating innovation begins with leadership that empowers rather than directs. “I want to remove the stigma around making a mistake,” Schlegel shared. “What matters is that people are honest about and learn from their mistakes. That’s where innovation happens.”
Loew echoed this perspective, highlighting the company’s Create and Innovate program, which gives engineers dedicated time to pursue new ideas. “We want people to feel safe to share ideas, even crazy ones,” he said.“ Creativity is an enabler of innovation.”
By promoting openness, trust, and shared ownership, KION North America has built a culture where curiosity is celebrated, and collaboration is constant. Employees are encouraged to bring forward ideas from all corners of the business, knowing their voices will be heard.
That culture of psychological safety, where experimentation is valued as much as execution, is what allows KION NA’s people to continuously find new ways to improve. Innovation isn’t confined to a department or a title, it’s part of how everyone works, learns, and grows together.
An Innovation Culture Rooted in Purpose
What truly distinguishes KION North America is not a single invention; it’s a mindset, a belief that innovation is continuous, collaborative, and human centric. It’s a philosophy shaped by global influences and local expertise, where every improvement, from a robotic welder to a redesigned mast, contributes to a larger vision: helping customers move goods safely, efficiently, and sustainably.
Innovation isn’t just about creating something new. It’s about making something better for people, for customers, and for the future. And in Summerville, that future is already being built: one idea, one collaboration, and one innovation at a time.
