Jungheinrich has been conducting its own production in China since 2006. Initially, it was an assembly plant for pedestrian-controlled trucks, which over time became a plant producing electric counterbalance trucks. Trucks manufactured by Jungheinrich in Qingpu reach customers throughout Asia. The incredibly dynamic development of the Asian market was the reason for the decision to build a new, larger Jungheinrich production plant in this part of the world. The Chinese market, where Jungheinrich has been active since 2004, grew by 70 percent in 2010 alone to 200,000 forklifts (2009: 120,000 units). This development also has a positive impact on neighboring regions. In 2010, the entire region absorbed 300,000 forklifts. It was a breakthrough year, as Asia surpassed the capacity of the European market for the first time.
Jungheinrich decided to increase its production capacity to meet the constantly growing demand for forklifts in Asia. At the beginning of November 2011, a ceremonial laying of the foundation stone for the new Jungheinrich Lift Truck Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. factory took place in Qingpu. The ceremony was attended by representatives of Jungheinrich AG: Reinhild Kühne (Plant Manager), Hans-Georg Frey (Chairman of the Board), and Dr. Klaus-Dieter Rosenbach (Technology), as well as local Chinese government representatives and members of the Qingpu industrial zone.
On a plot of 60,000 square meters, a modern forklift production center will be built. It will be located just 3 km from the current plant, which will be relocated after the construction of the new facility is completed. Thanks to the new factory, Jungheinrich will be able to quadruple its production capacity by 2015. The concept of the new plant is eco-friendly. In addition to using geothermal heat, the construction of a photovoltaic system (converting sunlight into electricity) is also planned. The energy obtained in this way will be used in the future to charge the batteries of the trucks produced here.