Krones

Krones is a German industrial technology group headquartered in Neutraubling near Regensburg. Its business is centered on machinery and integrated production lines for beverage manufacturers, but its systems also serve food, dairy, brewing, chemicals, and other packaged-goods industries. The company’s portfolio covers much more than a single bottling machine: it can include container production, rinsing, filling, capping, inspection, labelling, pasteurisation, secondary packaging, palletising, process engineering, factory software, and material-flow systems. The company originated in postwar Germany. In 1951, Hermann Kronseder began producing semi-automatic labelling machines based on his own designs. During the 1960s, Krones expanded into packaging and filling equipment, establishing the foundation for its later role as a supplier of complete lines rather than an isolated machine maker. The business became Krones AG in 1980, when it was converted into a stock corporation. Acquisitions subsequently broadened the group’s technical scope. Anton Steinecker Maschinenfabrik added brewing and brewhouse expertise in 1983; Zierk Maschinenbau expanded bottle-washing capabilities in 1988; Max Kettner strengthened packaging technology in 1998; Sander Hansen added pasteurising systems in 2000; Gernep expanded labelling technology in 2015; and Krones acquired a 60 percent interest in System Logistics in 2016, strengthening its intralogistics and warehouse-automation activities. The group has also operated through specialist businesses such as KIC Krones, which supplies adhesives and operating materials, and KOSME, which focuses on filling and packaging equipment for smaller and mid-sized customers. Krones’ technology spans several production stages. Its plastics engineering activities include stretch blow-moulding equipment for PET containers and systems for PET-flake cleaning and recycling. Filling and packaging equipment includes rotary rinsing, filling, and capping systems; aseptic lines; bottle washers; inspection systems; labellers; packers; sorting and grouping equipment; and palletisers. Process technology includes brewhouses, fermentation and storage-cellar equipment, syrup rooms, mixing and carbonation systems, heating, ultra-high-temperature treatment, and pasteurisation. Digital and logistics offerings connect production controls and manufacturing data with enterprise systems, while automated warehouses, commissioning systems, forklift guidance, and yard-management tools support the movement of materials and finished goods. Krones has developed a broad international footprint. The group manufactures in several German locations, including Neutraubling, Nittenau, Flensburg, Freising, and Rosenheim, and has also operated a production site in Debrecen, Hungary. Its international sales and service network includes numerous subsidiaries and shareholdings, and more than 90 percent of turnover has historically been generated outside Germany according to the cited reference material. The company positions itself as an integrated systems partner for beverage and packaged-goods producers, combining high-speed machinery with process engineering, packaging development, recycling, software, and after-sales services.

Krones emerged from the industrial rebuilding of Germany after the Second World War. Hermann Kronseder started the business in 1951, using proprietary designs to manufacture semi-automatic labelling machines. The initial focus on labelling reflected the needs of newly expanding packaged-beverage production, but the company gradually moved toward a broader machinery portfolio. During the 1960s, it added packaging and filling equipment, beginning a long-term shift from a specialist machine supplier toward an integrated line builder. A major organizational milestone came in 1980, when the company was converted into a stock corporation and adopted the name Krones AG. The following decades were characterized by internal product development and acquisitions that filled important gaps in the beverage-production chain. In 1983, the acquisition of Anton Steinecker Maschinenfabrik in Freising brought brewhouse manufacturing into the group. Zierk Maschinenbau, acquired in 1988, expanded the bottle-washing business. Max Kettner GmbH, acquired in 1998, added packaging machinery, while Denmark’s Sander Hansen A/S broadened the group’s pasteurisation capabilities in 2000. Krones also invested in technologies associated with changing container formats and sustainability. In 1997, it began manufacturing stretch blow-moulding machines for PET bottles. In 2000, it introduced an aseptic filling line for sensitive soft drinks. A PET recycling line followed in 2002, designed to clean recovered PET and return it to use as food-grade raw material. The company expanded aseptic sterilisation in 2005 by adding hydrogen-peroxide-based dry sterilisation to its existing peracetic-acid technology. In 2009, water-treatment systems became part of its portfolio. FlexWave, introduced in 2010, applied microwave-based heating to PET preforms with the stated aim of reducing energy use. In 2011, LitePac offered a packaging format using strapping tape and a carrying handle rather than conventional shrink film, reducing packaging material in the cited comparison. In 2015, DecoType Select enabled direct printing onto selected grooved or relief container structures. Further acquisitions continued to reinforce the group’s end-to-end offering. Gernep Group, acquired in 2015, added labelling technology. In 2016, Krones acquired a 60 percent stake in System Logistics S.p.A. of Italy, strengthening automated material handling, warehousing, and intralogistics. Since 2014, the group’s intralogistics activities have been organized through Syskron Holding GmbH, according to the cited reference material. Krones’ manufacturing and service network developed beyond its Bavarian base. German production locations include Neutraubling, Nittenau, Flensburg, Freising, and Rosenheim, while a facility in Debrecen, Hungary, was reported as completing production facilities from 2019. The company’s business is internationally oriented, with a global network of subsidiaries and shareholdings and historically more than 90 percent of turnover generated abroad. By 2019, the company reportedly held 5,877 patents and utility models. Its development has therefore combined mechanical engineering, process technology, packaging science, recycling, automation, software, and global service into a single industrial brand.

1. 2019Debrecen production site

   A production site in Debrecen, Hungary, was reported as completing Krones production facilities from 2019.

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2. 2016Investment in System Logistics

   Krones acquired a 60 percent interest in System Logistics S.p.A. of Italy, expanding its automated logistics and warehouse systems.

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3. 2015Gernep acquisition and DecoType Select

   Krones acquired Gernep Group for labelling capabilities and introduced DecoType Select for selective direct printing on shaped container surfaces.

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4. 2014Intralogistics organized through Syskron

   Krones’ intralogistics activities were pooled in Syskron Holding GmbH.

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5. 2011LitePac packaging concept

   LitePac used strapping tape and a carrying handle for PET-bottle formations instead of conventional shrink-film packaging.

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6. 2010FlexWave heating system

   Krones introduced FlexWave, a microwave-based heating system for PET preforms intended to support lower-energy container production.

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7. 2009Water-treatment systems added

   Water-treatment technology became part of the company’s industrial portfolio.

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8. 2005Expansion of aseptic sterilisation

   Krones added dry sterilisation using hydrogen peroxide to its existing peracetic-acid sterilisation offering.

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9. 2002First PET recycling line

   The company developed a PET recycling line for recovering bottles and producing food-grade recycled material.

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10. 2000Aseptic filling and Sander Hansen acquisition

    Krones produced its first line for aseptic filling of sensitive soft drinks and acquired Sander Hansen A/S, adding pasteurising expertise.

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11. 1998Acquisition of Max Kettner

    The acquisition strengthened Krones’ packaging-machinery portfolio.

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12. 1997Entry into PET stretch blow-moulding

    Krones began manufacturing stretch blow-moulding machines for PET containers.

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13. 1988Acquisition of Zierk Maschinenbau

    The deal expanded Krones’ bottle-washing machinery business.

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14. 1983Acquisition of Anton Steinecker Maschinenfabrik

    The acquisition added brewhouse manufacturing and strengthened Krones’ brewery-technology capabilities.

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15. 1980Conversion into Krones AG

    The company was converted into a stock corporation.

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16. 1960Expansion into packaging and filling

    During the 1960s, Krones broadened its machinery range to include packers and filling systems.

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17. 1951Company founded through semi-automatic labelling machines

    Hermann Kronseder began manufacturing semi-automatic labelling machines based on his own designs.

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Integrated, high-throughput production-line and process-technology partner for beverage, food, packaging, and related manufacturing industries.

• ContiformPET container production

  Contiform is associated with Krones’ stretch blow-moulding technology for producing PET bottles. The equipment converts preforms into containers and forms part of the upstream packaging-production stage. Krones’ PET machinery is designed for high-output beverage operations and can be integrated with subsequent filling and packaging equipment.

• ModulfillFilling technology

  Modulfill is a Krones filling-platform family for beverage production. Filling lines can be configured for different container types and products and may be combined with rinsing, capping, inspection, and downstream packaging systems. The broader portfolio includes high-speed rotary filling and aseptic applications.

• LinapacPackaging machinery

  Linapac represents Krones’ packaging machinery offering for grouping and packing beverage containers. Such systems can support one-way or returnable packaging formats and can be integrated with sorting, conveying, and palletising equipment to create continuous end-of-line production systems.

• LitePacSecondary packaging2011

  LitePac is a packaging concept introduced in 2011 for PET-bottle multipacks. It uses strapping tape and a carrying handle rather than conventional shrink film, with the stated objective of reducing packaging material while maintaining a practical multipack format.

• FlexWavePET preform heating2010

  FlexWave is a preform-heating system based on microwave technology. Krones presented it as an approach to more energy-efficient PET-bottle production by heating preforms before stretch blow-moulding.

• PET recycling systemsRecycling technology2002

  Krones supplies PET recycling technology based on cleaning PET flakes, progressive temperature control, and decontamination. The systems are intended to recover post-consumer PET and produce recycled material suitable for reuse in food-contact applications when the relevant process and regulatory requirements are met.

• Aseptic filling systemsFilling and sterilisation2000

  Krones’ aseptic systems fill sensitive beverages under controlled hygienic conditions. Its cited technology history includes sterilisation with peracetic acid and later dry sterilisation using hydrogen peroxide, supporting applications in which product preservation and microbiological control are important.

• Process and brewery systemsProcess engineering

  The process-engineering portfolio covers brewhouses, fermentation and storage-cellar equipment, supply installations, syrup rooms, mixing and carbonation equipment, UHT and flash-heating systems, and pasteurisers. These technologies allow Krones to participate in upstream beverage production as well as filling and packaging.

• Intralogistics and production ITAutomation and logistics

  Krones and related group businesses provide production-control, data-integration, warehouse, and material-flow systems. Applications include automated storage, commissioning, forklift guidance, yard management, and links between production processes and enterprise-resource-planning systems.

• 2016Investment in System LogisticsM&A

  Krones sought to expand beyond machinery into factory logistics and automated material handling.

  What changed. The company acquired a 60 percent interest in System Logistics S.p.A.

  Aftermath. The investment strengthened Krones’ intralogistics, warehouse-automation, and material-flow offering.

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• 2011Launch of LitePacProduct launch

  Beverage producers were seeking multipack formats that used less packaging material.

  What changed. Krones introduced a PET-bottle multipack using strapping tape and a carrying handle instead of shrink film.

  Aftermath. The concept became part of Krones’ packaging-efficiency and materials-reduction portfolio.

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• 1980Conversion to a stock corporationStrategy

  Krones had expanded beyond its original labelling-machine focus into packaging and filling equipment.

  What changed. The company was converted into a stock corporation and became Krones AG.

  Aftermath. The corporate form supported the subsequent development of a larger, acquisition-led industrial group.

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1. Krones
2. Krones official website