Krones

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Krones AG
Type Aktiengesellschaft
Traded as FWB: KRN
Industry Manufacturing, systems engineering
Founded 1951
Founder(s) Herman Kronseder
Headquarters Neutraubling, Germany
Key people Volker Kronseder (CEO and chairman of the executive board), Ernst Baumann (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products Machinery and production lines for bottling, canning and other packaging
Revenue € 2,66 billion (2012)[1]
Employees 11,963 (2012)[1]
Website www.krones.com

Krones AG is a German packaging and bottling machine manufacturer. It is the world’s leading manufacturer of lines for filling beverages in plastic and glass bottles or beverage cans.[2] The company manufactures stretch blow-moulding machines for producing Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, plus fillers, labellers, bottle washers, pasteurisers, inspectors, packers and palletisers. This product portfolio is complemented by material flow systems and process technology for producing beverages, plus syrup kitchens, for clients like breweries, dairies and soft-drink companies. The company is devoting particular attention to PET economies in the production process for PET bottles. With what is so far the lightest-ever PET bottle for still water, weighing 6.6 g, Krones won the German Packaging Prize for 2008 in the sales package category.[3] The sustainability program, "enviro" is the group's own standard for designing machines and systems. The user thus, gets the Technical Control Board (TÜV) certified documentation of consumption data.

History

Krones’ corporate evolution is closely connected to the spirit of get-up-and-go optimism prevalent in Germany following the 2nd World War.[4] Hermann Kronseder, the father of the present-day Executive Board Chairman, began in 1951 to manufacture semi-automatic labellers to his own designs. The continuous success of his machines meant that as from the 1960s, the firm’s range of machinery was extended to include packers and filling systems. In 1980, the company was converted into a stock corporation as KRONES AG. Acquisitions of other companies were the building blocks for the present-day complete range of machines for the beverage industry:

Corporate Data

The headquarter of the group is situated in Neutraubling near Regensburg, Germany. In Germany in total 9,076 people are employed.[1] New machines and systems are all manufactured at the German production facilities (Neutraubling, Nittenau, Flensburg, Freising and Rosenheim). The internationally focused company achieves more than 80% of its total turnover abroad and is represented worldwide through 40 subsidiaries.

Krones AG company premises in Neutraubling

The subsidiaries

  • KIC Krones GmbH (high-tech adhesives for labels and carton packages, plus processing and operating materials), Neutraubling, Germany
  • KOSME S.R.L. (filling and packaging machines for mid-tied companies), Roverbella, Italy

cover additional market segments in beverage filling.

In the year 2011 the enterprise increased the number of its patents and utility models to 2,200.[5]

Corporate Structure

Plastics Engineering

Top priority is given to stretch blow-moulding machines for the production of PET bottles of up to a volume of 3 liters, with an output of 12,800 to 80,000 bottles/hour. The PET recycling system is based on a PET Flakes cleaning process equipped with progressive temperature controls and decontamination.

Filling and Packing Technology

PET bottle filling line
A stretch blow machine (right) and a filling machine (left) in block alignment without intermediary conveyor belts

Attention goes to rinse, filling and capping lines with a rotary concept. This is where the enterprise distinguishes itself from inline construction, since only rotary lines are suitable for high-speed tasks of up to 60.000 bottles/hour or approximately 100,000 cans/hour, including aseptic filling systems for beverages with a high pH value (> 4,5). For the disinfection of containers and closures, PES or H2O2 is used. Further steps in beverage production as bottle-washing machines, inspection and control systems for bottles and bundles, as well as labelling machines for cold and hot glue or self-adhesive labelling complete the product range. Packaging machines for bundles either one-way or returnable, sorting and grouping stations, as well as palletisation systems supplement the spectrum.

Process Engineering

Brewhouse plant

Breweries can be completely equipped with brewhouses, including fermenting and storage cellar equipment, along with assigned supply installations. Further, the company supplies syrup areas, mixing and carbonising equipment for manufacturing plants of non-alcoholic beverages. Heating systems as UHT- and flash heating systems or pasteurizing systems are available for beverage preservation.

Material Flow Engineering

Logistics systems take care of the provisions for production and distribution, such as raw, operating and auxiliary materials, as well as finished products, where either block storage or automatic warehouse systems are installed. In addition, commissioning equipment permit the manufacturing of combined product pallets. Corporate planning is improved with forklift guidance and yard management systems during the unloading and loading procedure.

Notable Milestones Since 1997

  • 1997 Kick-off of the manufacturing of stretch blow-moulding machines for the production of PET bottles
  • 2000 Delivery of the first line for aseptic filling of sensitive soft drinks[6]
  • 2002 Premiere of the first PET recycling line for recovering PET bottles and re-using them as food-grade raw material
  • 2005 Expansion of the firm’s aseptic filling technology to include dry sterilisation using H2O2; Krones had already been offering sterilisation with peracetic acid, and is thus the only company to offer both of these technologies.
  • 2010 The new ProShape - Process for the production of oval and asymmetrical plastic containers is brought to market
  • 2010 Presentation of the new FlexWave heating system for preforms based on microwave technology for energy saving manufacturing of PET bottles.[7]
  • 2011 LitePac is introduced, a completely new method of packaging beverages: PET bottle formations are provided with strapping tape and a carrying handle only, so that waste from packaging can be reduced by 75% in relation to former shrink film packaging.[8]

Business Figures

Consolidated sales:[1][5][9]

  • 1,695 million euros (2005)
  • 1,911 million euros (2006)
  • 2,156 million euros (2007)
  • 2,381 million euros (2008)
  • 1,865 million euros (2009)
  • 2,173 million euros (2010)
  • 2,480 million euros (2011)
  • 2,664 million euros (2012)

Sales breakdown by sectors in 2012[1]

  • Alcoholic beverages 39.4%
  • Soft drinks 54.8%
  • Food, Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics 5.8%

Executive Board

  • Volker Kronseder, Chairman
  • Rainulf Diepold
  • Werner Frischholz
  • Christoph Klenk
  • Thomas Ricker

Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Ernst Baumann

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Annual Report 2012". Krones. Retrieved 24 April 2013. 
  2. ↑ Florian Langenscheidt, Bernd Venohr (Hrsg.): Lexikon der deutschen Weltmarktführer. Die Königsklasse deutscher Unternehmen in Wort und Bild. Deutsche Standards Editionen, Köln 2010, ISBN 978-3-86936-221-2.
  3. ↑ Deutscher Verpackungspreis
  4. ↑ Krones - Company history
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Annual Report 2011". Krones. Retrieved 5 May 2012. 
  6. ↑ Brauwelt No. 46/47, 2000, p.2052
  7. ↑ verpackungspreis.de
  8. ↑ vgl. Huber, Wolfgang, Gebindekonzept mit Zukunft, in: PackReport 06/2011, P. 18-19, Frankfurt/Main ISSN 0342-3743
  9. ↑ Annual Reports 2005 - 2009

External links

Germany MDAX companies of Germany
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