materialfluss: You had an enviably interesting job in the KION Group for a long time. Why did you leave your "comfort zone" and become Managing Director of the industrial truck manufacturer Baoli in EMEA a few months ago?

Christian Bischof (smiling): After three years at Group headquarters as Senior Director Market Intelligence & Corporate Strategy, I wanted to broaden my horizons and do something new. And I'm staying with the Group. In fact, because Baoli is also one of the KION brands, I am still very happy to be an employee of the Group, which I have been with for a very long time. During my time at KION North America, I have already built up close links with Baoli. Among other things, I was responsible for the introduction and expansion of Baoli in the USA. At that time, I also recognized the great potential that lies dormant in the brand. That appealed to me.

mfl: Of course, that immediately raises the next questions - what potential are we talking about, and where do you want to take Baoli in Europe, the Middle East and Africa?

Bischof: You may find my answer to this question a little bold. But my clear goal is to develop Baoli into one of the leading suppliers in the entry-level industrial truck segment in all EMEA countries. We want to achieve the "top of the mind" position here. Anyone who thinks of robust solutions for daily material handling with reliable and easy-to-operate devices with a good price-performance ratio should think of Baoli first and foremost. However, when making this announcement, I am well aware that we are operating in a highly sought-after and therefore highly competitive environment. The entry-level segment is currently growing enormously fast, much faster than the rest of the market. Nevertheless, I see very good opportunities for Baoli in EMEA.

mfl: That is indeed a very bold prediction. But are you aware that there are still strong reservations about Chinese industrial truck manufacturers, especially in Germany and the rest of Europe?

Bischof: I am of course aware of these resentments - even if they are not always justified. For us, however, the situation is completely different to that of our Chinese competitors. Although the Baoli forklift truck brand was founded in China in 2003, it was taken over by the global intralogistics group KION Group - the world's second-largest manufacturer of industrial trucks - in 2009. This affiliation with the Group unleashes enormous synergies and strengthens our brand immensely, especially as KION Group AG is based in Frankfurt, i.e. in Germany. We offer European quality standards for our products, but we use our manufacturing expertise in China - which is cheaper than in Europe. To put it another way: We combine European development DNA with cost-conscious Chinese production methods. This results in high-quality and highly competitive products that are unrivaled in the entry-level industrial truck segment worldwide.

mfl: And what about service? As you probably know, no user of industrial trucks can afford to wait four weeks or longer for spare parts deliveries from China.

Bischof: This is another area where we differ fundamentally from our competitors in that we have very stringently expanded our range of after-sales solutions over the past few years. For example, we have built a central product and spare parts warehouse in Rolo, Italy. On an area of around 14,000 square meters, we permanently keep around 700 to 800 forklifts ready for immediate delivery and also have 11,000 square meters of spare parts space. From there, we can deliver almost any spare part anywhere in Europe within 24 hours. But perhaps another example will help you to understand our high quality standards. While other Chinese suppliers offer the operating instructions for their products in English at best, we translate every manual into the respective national language at great expense. You will find these very high quality standards at Baoli, characterized by the KION philosophy, in all areas - from development to production to customer service.

mfl: But the Baoli machines are manufactured exclusively in China?

Bischof: That is correct. We have our traditional production site in the Shanghai region. At the end of December, KION opened an additional plant for the production of counterbalance trucks in Jinan (Shandong province), where Baoli industrial trucks are also manufactured. The investment volume for this pioneering project is around €100 million. The KION Group will create more than 800 new jobs at the new site in eastern China by 2025. We now have an ultra-modern production facility there that meets the very highest manufacturing standards and thus our aforementioned quality requirements.

mfl: Let's come back to the EMEA market. How is Baoli structured there? Who are the most important people behind the brand?

Bischof: All of our employees are important because they make our company what it is. It is difficult to single out individual people. To mention just two names: Francesco Pampuri is our Director Brand Management and is also a proven industrial truck specialist. He has already shared his knowledge in several specialist books he has written. Florian Meyke, our Director Product Management, joined Baoli from Still as Head of Product Management Warehouse Technology and is now contributing his many years of experience to our expansion plans. I am very sure that we will achieve a great deal with this team of experts in the coming months and years.

This article appeared in issue 3/2022.