One year AntOn by Jungheinrich: “We’re reaching customers we haven’t been able to target before.”
With the launch of our AntOn by Jungheinrich brand, we at Jungheinrich have opened a new chapter. What has happened since then? Torsten Gerhardt, Vice President Global Portfolio, reveals all.
Key insights
AntOn by Jungheinrich expands the Jungheinrich portfolio in the entry-level segment with robust, cost-effective industrial trucks with high availability.
With AntOn by Jungheinrich, Jungheinrich is targeting new customer groups and meeting their diverse requirements in an even more targeted manner.
With the Global OEM Centre near Shanghai, Jungheinrich is consolidating key expertise for its OEM business and laying the foundations for the further development of the AntOn by Jungheinrich portfolio.
A year ago, Jungheinrich launched a new brand: AntOn by Jungheinrich. The ambition behind it is clear: to reach more customers and strategically expand our portfolio to meet a wide range of requirements. In this interview, Torsten Gerhardt, Vice President Global Portfolio at Jungheinrich, explains why the right solution is needed for every application and what makes him particularly proud after the first year.
Torsten, AntOn by Jungheinrich is celebrating its first anniversary. What does that mean to you personally?
Above all, I’m proud of how quickly AntOn by Jungheinrich has gained momentum worldwide. We’ve started a new chapter with the brand and made a conscious decision to take a new direction. Today, we can see that this decision was the right one: with AntOn by Jungheinrich, we’re reaching customers we haven’t been able to target before, or only to a limited extent. At the same time, we’re expanding our ability to offer them exactly the solution that suits their application.
How does AntOn by Jungheinrich help us better meet different customer needs?
The demands in material handling are becoming increasingly diverse. Success will come to those who can intelligently combine different solutions. Some customers require high-performance, bespoke solutions for demanding applications. Others are looking for robust, cost-effective trucks with high availability for clearly defined applications. With AntOn by Jungheinrich, we have strategically expanded our portfolio in the entry-level segment. For me, it’s not about yellow or purple, but about what the customer really needs. And often the answer is: a combination of both worlds.
How does this work in practice?
A good example is a German retailer that we recently won as a customer. The decisive factor was that we could offer cost-effective AntOn by Jungheinrich trucks alongside high-performance Jungheinrich solutions from a single source. It is precisely this combination that can sometimes tip the balance. For me, this shows very clearly that AntOn by Jungheinrich strengthens our offering and opens up additional business opportunities for us.
Here’s another example of a customer who relies on AntOn by Jungheinrich: AntOn by Jungheinrich forklift trucks at MET Logistics
AntOn by Jungheinrich is also part of Strategy 2030+. What makes the brand so important from a strategic perspective?
With our Strategy 2030+, we aim to position Jungheinrich more competitively and unlock new growth opportunities globally. Expanding our portfolio plays a central role in this, and AntOn by Jungheinrich is making an important contribution. We are reaching additional customer groups, serving a growing market segment and strengthening our position. AntOn by Jungheinrich is therefore not just a new brand, but a strategic component of our future.
For you, the opening of the Jungheinrich Global OEM Centre near Shanghai is a personal highlight from the first year of AntOn by Jungheinrich. Can you explain why?
The Global OEM Centre brings together our global expertise in portfolio development, procurement, quality assurance, conformity testing and warranty processing. At the same time, we are closer to our existing partners and can benefit from market opportunities and innovations much more quickly. Overall, the centre is key to the targeted expansion of the AntOn by Jungheinrich portfolio and to providing even better support to our customers worldwide.
Finally, let’s take a look into the purple crystal ball: what’s next for AntOn by Jungheinrich?
In doing so, we will listen carefully: How are our customers’ requirements changing? Where are new use cases emerging? And which solutions create the greatest added value? If we succeed in this, AntOn by Jungheinrich can make a significant contribution to positioning Jungheinrich more broadly and even more strongly on the international stage. We’ve achieved a great deal in the first year. But I’m convinced that the real AntOn by Jungheinrich story is only just beginning.
