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. 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.

Krones’ corporate evolution is closely connected to the spirit of get-up-and-go optimism prevalent in Germany following the 2nd World War. 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: