KION North America Corporation has committed to a $5.7 million investment in its Summerville operations.

Working with Parker Poe Consulting, the company secured the terms and conditions it needed to expand its ability to supply and support a fleet of forklifts, reach trucks and VNA (very narrow aisle) trucks to the Volvo Cars manufacturing plant now being built in nearby Berkeley County.

KION North America Corporation is a member of the KION Group AG, the multinational German conglomerate that is the world’s largest makers of industrial trucks. The Dorchester County operation first began producing pallet and VNA trucks in 1985.

The expansion will enable KION North America Corporation to expand its production capacity from 3,000 units per year to 12,000 units per year by 2020. Meanwhile, Volvo Cars expects to begin rolling S60 model sedans off the assembly line at its 2.3 million-square-foot facility by the end of 2018.

KION North America Corporation President/CEO Vincent Halma says the expansion will create 50 new jobs while allowing it to build on its role as a key supplier of critical material-handling technology to leading automotive innovators worldwide.