Research & development
The KION Group spent €59.3 million on research and development (R&D) in the first half of 2014, up by 3.4 per cent compared with the first six months of the previous year. This total amount included capitalised development costs of €21.6 million. Expressed as a proportion of revenue, this total R&D spending increased slightly to 2.7 per cent.
The number of full-time jobs in R&D stood at 981 as at 30 June 2014 (31 December 2013: 944).
The main R&D projects in 2013 continued into the first half of this year. They are described in detail in the 2013 group management report. The focus was on developing platform concepts for China and other growth markets and reducing the harmful emissions and fuel consumption of industrial trucks, for example through the introduction of new drive concepts.
In the first half of the year, Linde Material Handling brought out two compact double stackers that round off its portfolio of warehouse technology products at the lower end of the load capacity range. The successful, energy-efficient EVO counterbalance truck series was extended to include new electric forklift trucks in the 1.2–2 tonne load capacity category. A new generation of pallet stackers with innovative load management was also presented.
Working with the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP), Linde Material Handling developed a scientific method for comprehensively assessing the environmental impact of its forklift trucks and warehouse trucks throughout the product lifecycle. Lifecycle assessments for the company’s seven main product groups were prepared for this purpose. This means customers have clear information on how their environmental footprint is affected as a result of deploying a Linde truck.
Meanwhile, STILL continued to enhance its product portfolio. In April 2014, it brought out its newly developed FMX NG reach truck, whose features include active load stabilisation. STILL has also begun offering the RX 60 electric forklift truck, which has an increased load capacity of up to eight tonnes. And in June, it launched a completely updated version of the RX 20 electric forklift truck, which offers improved performance. >> TABLE 17
Total R&D spending |
>>TABLE 17 |
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in € million |
Q2 2014 |
Q2 2013 |
Change |
Q1 – Q2 2014 |
Q1 – Q2 2013 |
Change |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and development costs (P&L) |
28.7 |
29.4 |
–2.2% |
58.2 |
58.8 |
–1.1% |
Amortisation expense |
–10.7 |
–11.1 |
3.7% |
–20.5 |
–22.3 |
8.2% |
Capitalised development costs |
11.9 |
11.0 |
7.9% |
21.6 |
20.9 |
3.5% |
Total R&D spending |
29.9 |
29.3 |
2.1% |
59.3 |
57.3 |
3.4% |
R&D spending as percentage of revenue |
2.6% |
2.5% |
− |
2.7% |
2.6% |
− |