KION North America Corporation Names New Leader | Industry News

The KION Group is under new management in North America. On Jan. 16, Vincent Halma took over as president CEO. He succeeds Brian Butler, who had been president of Linde North America Corp. since 2005. Butler recently left the company.

Before moving to Summerville, S.C., Vincent Halma held the roles of managing director in the Netherlands and vice president of sales for Western Europe at STILL GmbH. Originally from the Netherlands, he also spent more than 10 years in the United States working for a provider of cargo solutions.

“Establishing a much stronger presence for ourselves in the North American market is one of the key elements of our Strategy 2020,” said Gordon Riske, CEO of the KION Group. “Vincent Halma can count on an excellent team as we strive to achieve our objective of evolving from a niche provider into a major market player.” 

Under the umbrella of KION North America, the brand companies Linde and STILL are to serve the requirements of the US, Canadian and Mexican markets with a comprehensive, customized and complementary product portfolio. The company’s medium-term objectives include establishing a fleet management and finance system and possibly introducing an additional brand.