Global warehouse automation company Knapp AG, headquartered in Austria, is planning for the opening of its newest production site in Shanghai. In the future, supply to the Asian and Australian markets will be handled through this location.
For Bernhard Psonder, managing director of KNAPP Asia Pacific Automation Systems, the new production location in the Shanghai economic centre represents a clear and planned continuation of the company strategy.
“This step allows us to meet the needs of our customers in and around China. For sales, engineering, purchasing and service we can operate close to the customer. We will be able to handle imports to Asia more simply and offer systems that are in line with the market,” Mr Psonder said.
Asia-Pacific hub
In China, KNAPP can rely on its experience and existing customer relationships. The company has strengthened its market presence in the region since 2008 by establishing a sales office in Beijing.
“The establishment of a production location is the next logical step in this development. We are specially focussed on building up our sales activity in the pharma and retail sectors. Strong growth in e-commerce is the driving force and has resulted in a demand for modern, automated distribution centres,” said Zhentian Chen, general manager of Knapp Logistics Automation Systems in Beijing. The company plans on developing the sales office into a full-service subsidiary in the coming years.
The investment in China will blend into the existing manufacturing network of the Knapp Group. The new production location will be managed and coordinated through headquarters in Hart bei Graz, which is by far the largest production location with 1,500 employees. Customers in North America and Latin America are already supplied by local production units. The Knapp Group has local centres of competence for fashion logistics with the Dürkopp subsidiary in Germany, for food logistics with Knapp Systemintegration and for production logistics with YLOG Industry Solutions, both in Austria. The new location in Shanghai is an important factor in improving competitiveness – for the group of companies as well as for the individual locations.
Knapp AG was founded in 1952 in Graz, Austria. Under the inventive genius of the company founder, Günter Knapp, the company developed into one of the internationally leading manufacturers of warehouse automation and warehouse logistics software for various sectors. Today KNAPP’s customers include global multi-corporate enterprises and leading brand-name companies such as Boots, John Lewis, Avon, Clarks, Hugo Boss, Marks & Spencer or Walmart.
The Knapp Group, comprising eight manufacturing locations as well as service and sales subsidiaries in many countries achieved a turnover of 384 million euros with 2,500 employees in the past fiscal year. The company’s scope of systems comprises turn-key intralogistics systems, from development to after-sales support.
