Dematic is an American supplier of materials handling systems, software and services. With a growth rate of 21.2% in 2021 Dematic was listed as the world's second-largest materials handling systems supplier with a revenue of 3.2 billion USD. The company employs over 10,000 people and has engineering centres and manufacturing facilities in the

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and

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. Its customer base includes small, medium and large companies in several other countries across six continents. Since November 2016 Dematic has been a member of KION Group. Dematic's headquarters are located in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

History

Dematic began in 1819 in Wetter, Germany with the founding of Mechanische Werkstätten Harkort & Co, which was incorporated into Deutsche Maschinenbau-Aktiengesellschaft (Demag) in 1910, then acquired by

Mannesmann Mannesmann was a German industrial conglomerate. It was originally established as a manufacturer of steel pipes in 1890 under the name "Deutsch-Österreichische Mannesmannröhren-Werke AG" (lit. "German-Austrian Mannesmann pipe-works joint-s ...

in 1973. After the acquisition of U.S. Rapistan (specialised in conveyor systems), Mannesmann Demag Fördertechnik AG was established in 1992. In 1993, Australian racking and shelving manufacturer Colby was added, and in 1997 the company was renamed to Mannesmann Dematic AG. Four years later,

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

bought the company and merged it with its own logistics activities to form Siemens Dematic AG. In 2006 Siemens carved out the industrial and distribution logistics portion as Dematic GmbH & Co. KG. In the same year, the investment firm Triton acquired the majority of shares. On December 28, 2012, AEA Investors LP ("AEA") and Teachers' Private Capital ("TPC"), the private investment division of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, completed their acquisition of Dematic from private equity firm Triton. In February 2016, Dematic announced the relocation of its manufacturing operations in Grand Rapids to its facility in Monterrey, Mexico. In June 2016, KION Group agreed to buy Dematic for about $2.1 billion. In November 2016, KION Group completed the acquisition. On March 13, 2017, Dematic announced the integration of Egemin Automation to create the world's leading provider of automated guided vehicle technology. In January 2024, Michael Larsson was announced as President of Dematic after former President, Hasan Dandashly, retired. In April 2024, Dematic expanded its operations in North Asia with a new office in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, to better serve industries such as retail, e-commerce, and logistics. In December 2024, Dematic opened a new office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to enhance service capabilities in the Middle East.

Acquisitions

On September 15, 2010, Dematic Group successfully completed the acquisition of HK Systems, a North American automated

material handling Material handling involves short-distance movement within the confines of a building or between a building and a transportation vehicle. It uses a wide range of manual, semi-automated, and automated equipment and includes consideration of the pro ...

and software provider. The expanded manufacturing footprint allows Dematic to manufacture within the USA storage and retrieval machines and automated guided vehicles in addition to

conveyor A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

, sortation and

order fulfillment Order fulfilment (in American English: order fulfillment) is in the most general sense the complete process from point of sales enquiry to delivery of a product to the customer. Sometimes, it describes the more narrow act of distribution or th ...

technology. In January 2015, Dematic acquired SDI Group Europe, a supplier of garment on hanger and flat sorter technology in Europe. In November 2015, Dematic acquired Reddwerks Corp. pending approval of the shareholders. The acquisition became final in December 2015. In March 2016, Dematic acquired NDC Automation, a provider of automated guided vehicles and software. In March 2020, Dematic acquired Digital Applications International (DAI), a logistics software firm, for approximately $134 million.

Business segments

Primary markets for Dematic systems include e-Commerce, grocery food and beverage, general retail, wholesale, manufacturing, apparel, parcel, pharma/healthcare,

third-party logistics Third-party logistics (abbreviated as 3PL, or TPL) is an organization's long-term commitment of outsourcing its distribution services to third-party logistics businesses. Third-party logistics providers typically specialize in integrated opera ...

(3PL), and document management ( integrated or automated library systems).

Products and services

Dematic designs and manufactures individual products and

material handling equipment Material handling equipment (MHE) is mechanical equipment used for the movement, storage, control, and protection of materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal. The different types ...

such as automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS) and different types of

s, sortation systems and order picking systems. Dematic also offers consultative, planning, and design services. In addition, the company provides software like warehouse management systems and systems that support material flow and paperless order picking operations. Dematic also offers customer services such as the technical operation of facilities and their maintenance, including complete enterprise asset management.

References

{{US logistics Logistics companies of the United States Material-handling equipment Automation organizations American companies established in 1819 Companies based in Michigan German companies established in 1819 Transportation companies based in Michigan