“When I started as plant manager, the challenge was to bring processes to the highest level of our industry, together of course with the efficiency of the entire plant and optimum costs. Thanks to a great team we achieved this between 2018 and 2020. By doing so, we showed the KION AG management that the factory in Stříbro is the future of the Group. Since then, we have managed to move other high-value-added parts of production to Stříbro, while at the same time working at a high level of automation, which is consistent with the billions of crowns of investment that we have made in previous years. This is also linked to the expansion of the halls with our partners Accolade Industrial Fund and Panattoni, which is necessary for the gradual growth of the plant,” says Michal Kříž, Senior Director of Operations at KION Stříbro – ITS EMEA, and he adds: “Warehouse automation was the final key element to ensure the future for our people and this region. It is a step that will ensure our long-term competitiveness in Europe and Asia, which we have confirmed by securing a mandate for Stříbro for the future manufacture of a new type of product on a shared platform for EMEA and APAC regions, which is currently in development and will be a key component of the KION AG portfolio.”
The KION Group factory is equipped with advanced technologies making it one of the largest and most modern industrial warehouse technology companies in the world. Many of the production, logistics and warehouse process are fully digitised. It is a paperless factory with most of the administration being conducted electronically. Until now, KION Group has used four buildings in the industrial zone in Stříbro, which together cover an area of more than ninety thousand square metres. In three of them it produces Linde Material Handling and STILL forklift trucks, as well as Dematic conveyor systems for a number of global companies and large international airports. The fourth building serves as a dispatch centre and logistics hub for Central and Eastern Europe. The combined value of the premises used by KION in the park exceeded 110.7 million euros at the end of the first quarter of 2025.
The expansion includes the enlargement of two existing buildings by a total of almost 6,000 sqm and the construction of a new, fully automated warehouse. But many more changes have been made to the site. The production area of the welding plant has been enlarged, the number of parking spaces increased and charging stations for electric vehicles set up. Now, the final phase of the modernisation is underway with technology being installed in the new automated warehouse.
“In the past, Stříbro and Tachov were regions with long-term high unemployment and projects such as the expansion by KION, which has been our tenant in the local park since 2015, are exactly what these areas need. Billion-crown investments in high value-added production attract a skilled labour force and help to strengthen the entire area economically. Also, the smart factory project is proof that the major players in global industry no longer look at us as the assembly plant of Europe, but as an equal partner n strategic production,” explains Milan Kratina, co-founder of Accolade Industrial Fund.
The advantage of the park in Stříbro is its convenient location. It is close to the D5 motorway roughly twenty-five kilometres from Pilsen. In addition, the Pilsen region benefits from a rich industrial history and from the presence of a university with technical disciplines. The entire Stříbro site is characterised by a high standard of sustainability. For example, the building leased here by Lear achieved BREEAM – Outstanding certification. The park also has a bug hotel, beehives and a meadow for insect pollinators. Employees can use an outdoor gym with a relaxation area.
“We are delighted when the companies that we bring to the Czech Republic continue to expand here. As soon as it arrived in Ostrov u Stříbra in 2016, KION announced its ambitious expansion plans. We can enthusiastically say that we have not only fulfilled these plans with the construction of a third building, but the current increase in capacity is exceeding all expectations. We are pleased that KION brings not only new projects, but especially projects with high added value, which are fully in keeping with the vision of the Pilsen region. This is a great example of how it pays to have a development, production and logistics centre nearby. This approach not only minimises the CO2 footprint, but also significantly reduces the impact on the environment,” concludes Klára Sobotková, Regional Development Director, Panattoni.
