rEUTERS
FRANKFURT
German forklift truck maker Jungheinrich will grow from its existing business rather than trying to copy rival Kion's recent $3.25 billion purchase of US logistics technology firm Dematic, its chairman told a weekly magazine.
"We don't do mega-mergers. We have ruled out billion (of dollars) acquisitions,"chairman Hans-Georg Frey said in an interview with the German language Euro am Sonntag.
Kion, supported by major shareholder Weichai Power , bought Dematic last month to expand into the market for automated warehouses and supply chains that have ballooned with the growth of e-commerce.
Meanwhile, China's Midea is set to control German robotics company Kuka after launching a 4.5 billion euro ($5 billion) offer in May to gain cutting-edge industrial technology expertise.
Frey said that studies showed that large mergers destroyed value, adding that in any case the strategy would not work for a family business.
Recovery in markets such as Spain were making him optimistic that possible setbacks in Britain, due to Britain's vote to leave the European Union, could be weathered.
Full-year sales and earnings guidance had not changed because of Brexit, he said.
Frey also said that supply chain automation was not a threat to future sales of trucks, because online trading would multiply the flow of goods.