Italy’s OM forklift truck brand enters Indian market

Italian company KION’s Indian forklift truck brand, Voltas, is to join forces with the long-established Italian brand OM in India. To harness the market potential of the subcontinent even more effectively, trucks containing Voltas technology will in future be marketed under the OM Voltas brand.

KION India will also sell products based on technology from KION under the sole name of OM. “We will be combining one hundred years of OM technical know-how and 65 years of Voltas expertise. The idea is to strengthen our market position in India by capitaliding further on KION,” said KION India CEO, Sunil K Gupta. 

 “This move in India is a positive example of how we can exploit the synergies that result from the KION Group’s successful multi-brand strategy,” said Gordon Riske, CEO of the KION Group, adding, “The KION brand OM is strong in the volume segment between premium and economy and has great potential in India.”

In addition to products bearing the OM and OM Voltas brand names, KION India also sells industrial trucks, warehouse technology and services under the Baoli and Linde brands. KION India has a production facility in Pune in western India as well as a sales and service network comprising more than 40 branches and dealerships with 80 sales outlets.

In 2011, the KION Group acquired the material handling businesses of Voltas Ltd. In Italy, products from the KION brand STILL are sold under the OM STILL name. OM STILL is a market leader in Italy. The company OM (Officine Meccaniche) was founded in Brescia in northern Italy in 1917.

The KION Group is a global leader in industrial trucks, related services, and supply chain solutions. With operations across more than 100 countries worldwide, the Group designs, builds and supports logistics solutions that optimise material and information flow within factories, warehouses and distribution centres. The company is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe, the second-largest producer of forklifts globally, and a leading provider of warehouse automation.