Krones

What Krones does

Krones AG is a German publicly traded industrial machinery manufacturer (MDAX-listed, ticker KRNTY OTC in the US) founded in 1951 and headquartered in Neutraubling, Germany. The company is a global systems supplier for beverage and liquid food production, offering complete turnkey solutions spanning process technology (brewing systems, water factories, soft drink lines, dairy plants, biotechnology processing), filling and packaging machinery (PET, glass, cans), intralogistics (System Logistics), plastics recycling (MetaPure), lifecycle service, and digital services (Krones Ecosystem with AI-powered digital twins). Its core technology combines mechanical engineering with AI, robotics, and Industry 4.0 solutions, including the Ingeniq line concept, agentic digital twins developed with Microsoft, and proprietary brands such as Steinecker, Evoguard, Netstal, Kosme, Gernep, and Ampco Pumps.

Krones generates revenue primarily through direct enterprise sales of capital equipment and complete production lines to large beverage and food manufacturers globally, supplemented by recurring lifecycle service revenue from spare parts (KIC Krones), maintenance, modular service agreements, training, and digital service subscriptions. Pricing is project-specific and not publicly disclosed, with multi-year contracts typical for complete production line sales. The company sells through regional subsidiaries in over 60 countries and participates in approximately 100 trade fairs annually (drinktec, interpack, Hannover Messe) as a primary marketing channel. Customer segments are split between beverage manufacturers (breweries, water, soft drinks, juice, dairy, spirits) as the primary vertical and food producers (dairy, plant-based beverages, biotechnology) as the secondary vertical, with PET packaging solutions spanning both segments. FY2025 revenue reached €5,663.8 million with 7.0% growth, supported by an order backlog exceeding €4 billion.

Name

Krones

Legal name

Krones AG

Website

https://krones.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Krones AG is a German global systems supplier of complete beverage and liquid food production technology, offering process equipment, filling and packaging lines, intralogistics, recycling, and AI-powered digital services to large enterprise manufacturers in over 60 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Neutraubling

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Capital Equipment Sales: Krones generates primary revenue from manufacturing and selling complete production lines and individual machines for beverage and food production including process technology equipment, filling machines, packaging lines, PET containers, stretch blow moulders, labellers, and recycling equipment. Revenue of €5,663.8 million in 2025, growing 7.0%.
2. Lifecycle Service and Aftermarket: Krones generates revenue from lifecycle service including maintenance, spare parts, training, modular service agreements, and upgrades. The company offers comprehensive service throughout the equipment lifecycle.
3. Complete Turnkey Solutions: Krones designs and implements complete turnkey factories covering every process step from product and container production through filling and packaging to material flow and recycling.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Krones designs, manufactures and integrates complete systems for beverage and liquid food production, including process technology (brewing, water, soft drinks, juice, dairy, biotechnology), filling and packaging machines for PET, glass and cans, intralogistics, plastics recycling modules (MetaPure), and a digital services platform (Krones Ecosystem). The company sells capital equipment, turnkey factories and lifecycle services directly to beverage and food manufacturers worldwide, with recently launched AI-driven line concepts such as Ingeniq and Robobox SynFlow.

Product overview

Krones is a global systems supplier for beverage and liquid food production, offering an integrated portfolio combining process technology, filling and packaging machinery, intralogistics, plastics recycling, lifecycle service, and digital services. The core platform includes complete production lines spanning from process engineering (brewing systems, water factories, soft drink lines) through filling and packaging (PET, glass, cans) to digital solutions (Krones Ecosystem with AI-powered digital twins). Key product families include: Process Technology for beverage preparation; Filling and Packaging Lines and Single Machines (stretch blow moulders, filling technology, inspection, labellers, packaging, palletising); Krones Ecosystem digital platform; Lifecycle Service for long-term support; and Plastics Recycling (MetaPure) for closed-loop solutions. The brand portfolio includes acquired and specialized brands: Steinecker (brewing), Evoguard (valves), Ampco Pumps (sanitary pumps), HST (homogenizers), Milkron (liquid food), Kosme and Gernep (labelling/packaging), Konplan (project planning), R+D Custom Automation (automation), and regional processing brands. The recently launched Ingeniq line concept represents a fully automated, AI-driven approach to beverage production.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Steinecker: Brewing systems and beer processing technology subsidiary
• Evoguard
• Ampco Pumps
• Ingeniq
• MetaPure
• KIC Krones
• Kosme
• Gernep
• Netstal
• System Logistics
• Syskron
• EquiTherm Coldfill
• Variopac Pro
• Dynafill Bloc
• Brewnomic

Products and services

• Ingeniq line concept A fully automated, data-driven beverage production line concept combining Krones machinery, robotics and AI into a harmonized system, with Connect and Secure digital visibility and Lifecycle Alliance performance guarantees.
• Process Technology lines Process engineering solutions covering each step from product preparation to processing for beer, water, soft drinks, juice, dairy, plant-based drinks, spirits and biotechnology, designed for beverage and liquid food manufacturers.
• Filling and Packaging Lines Complete lines for filling PET containers, glass bottles and cans, including aseptic systems and block-synchronised systems sold to beverage and food manufacturers.
• Single Machines Individual machines for beverage and packaging lines including injection moulding technology, stretch blow moulders, bottle washing machines, filling technology, inspection technology, labellers, conveyors, product treatment, packaging technology and palletising technology.
• Intralogistics Material flow and logistics solutions for handling containers and packages inside beverage production facilities, including automated picking and order fulfillment.
• Plastics Recycling (MetaPure) Washing modules and recycling solutions including the MetaPure product line for PET and other plastics, enabling closed-loop recycling systems used by beverage producers.
• Lifecycle Service Service solutions including Modular Service Agreements, Academy training and support services to reduce operating costs and ensure long-term efficient production across the equipment lifecycle.
• Krones Ecosystem digital platform Digital platform providing connected solutions for minimising downtimes, reducing waste, planning maintenance, optimising production, managing change-overs, reducing consumption and material management across beverage production lines.
• Robobox SynFlow Modular robotics system for container distribution upstream of the packer, designed to deliver precision, gentle container handling and reduced line footprint for beverage packaging lines.
• Variopac Pro packer with shrink tunnel Packaging machine featuring a new shrink tunnel that reduces energy consumption by at least 20% while improving shrink-wrap quality for beverage and food packers.
• Steinecker brewing systems Sub-brand offering complete solutions for beer production including the Brewnomic concept for energy-independent and carbon-neutral brewing, sold as standalone brewing systems to breweries.
• Evoguard process technology valves and fittings Process equipment for valves and fittings serving beverage, dairy, food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries with aseptic and hygienic solutions.
• Ampco Pumps sanitary pumps U.S. sanitary pump brand acquired in April 2023, providing centrifugal, lobe rotor, progressing cavity and specialized pumps for the processing technology portfolio.
• HST high-pressure homogenizers High-pressure homogenizers for liquid food, beverage, dairy and pharmaceutical applications, sold as specialized processing equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Simulation time reduced by 95% from 4 hours to under 5 minutes using agentic digital twins
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• RFK GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026Krones partnered with Brazilian RFK Group to build an automated factory in São José dos Pinhais with capacity of 1.2 billion liters annually, utilizing AI and automation technologies targeting R$2 billion in revenue by 2030.
• MicrosoftcoreTechnology or Integration · 24 March 2026Krones partnered with Microsoft to develop AI-powered agentic digital twins for beverage production optimization. The company showcased AI-powered digital twins that reduced simulation times by 95% at Hannover Messe 2026 and won the Microsoft Intelligent Manufacturing Award 2026.
• Bachmann Group (with Sesotec, Starlinger Viscotec, PET-MAN)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Krones participated in the PAC2PAC project with Bachmann Group and other partners to create a closed-loop recycling system for PET packaging in Switzerland using AI-based sorting technology.
• DS SmithmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2025Krones partnered with DS Smith to develop sustainable paper-based packaging for Coca-Cola HBC Austria, replacing plastic shrink wrap with recyclable corrugated paper handles, removing approximately 200 tonnes of plastic annually.
• Ansys (with CADFEM)coreTechnology or Integration · 18 November 2025Krones collaborated with Ansys and CADFEM to develop high-fidelity AI-powered digital twins that reduced simulation times from 3-4 hours to approximately 30 minutes for beverage production optimization.
• SynopsyscoreTechnology or Integration · 18 November 2025Synopsys and Krones unveiled a simulation-driven framework for optimizing manufacturing processes with digital twins, significantly reducing simulation time from hours to minutes and enhancing collaboration and efficiency.
• SoftServemajorTechnology or Integration · 18 November 2025SoftServe collaborated with Krones on digital twins projects, achieving a 15% reduction in unplanned downtime and demonstrating the effectiveness of simulation-driven manufacturing optimization.
• NVIDIAcoreTechnology or IntegrationNVIDIA partnered with Krones to enable AI-powered digital twin technology for beverage production, providing GPU acceleration that enables simulation speeds from hours to minutes.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GEA Group: German-listed global supplier of process technology and components for the food, beverage, and dairy industries, including separators, homogenizers, and complete processing lines. GEA is one of the two other Tier-1 players named alongside Krones in the ~27% combined global beverage processing equipment market share, making it the most direct competitor.
• KHS GmbH: German manufacturer of filling and packaging systems for the beverage, food, and non-food sectors, including stretch blow moulders, labellers, and complete lines. KHS is one of the closest direct competitors to Krones in mid- to high-speed beverage filling and packaging machinery, particularly for glass, PET, and cans.
• Sidel: PET-focused beverage packaging solutions provider owned by Tetra Laval, offering stretch blow moulding, filling, and end-of-line equipment. Sidel competes directly with Krones in PET bottling lines, aseptic filling, and complete beverage plant projects globally.
• Syntegon Technology: German packaging and processing technology provider (formerly Bosch Packaging Technology) serving food, beverage, pharma, and confectionery with filling, processing, and packaging lines. Syntegon competes with Krones particularly in liquid food processing, aseptic filling, and complete line integration.
• SIG Group: Swiss-listed provider of aseptic carton packaging and filling systems for beverages and liquid food. SIG competes with Krones in aseptic filling and complete line solutions, particularly for liquid dairy, juice, and plant-based beverage producers.
• ProMach: US-based packaging machinery solutions provider offering filling, capping, labelling, and end-of-line systems for beverage, food, and consumer goods manufacturers. ProMach competes with Krones in North American bottling and packaging line integration projects.

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Laval / Tetra Pak: Private Swiss-based food packaging and processing giant operating across cartons, processing equipment, and services through the Tetra Pak and Sidel brands. Competes directly with Krones via Sidel in PET and aseptic filling, while Tetra Pak offers a broader CPG packaging portfolio that overlaps with Krones' beverage processing business.
• Bucher Industries: Swiss-listed industrial group with divisions in specialty agricultural equipment, food and beverage processing (Bucher Unipektin, Bucher Denwel), and glass forming. Overlaps with Krones in food and beverage process technology and shares a similar European industrial OEM profile.
• ANDRITZ AG: Austrian-listed global supplier of plants, equipment, and services for hydropower, pulp & paper, metal processing, and separation technology. ANDRITZ competes with Krones in process technology and separation/homogenization for liquid food and beverage applications, while operating across a much broader industrial portfolio.
• Barry-Wehmiller Group: US-based global supplier of packaging, paper converting, and tissue machinery through brands like BW Packaging, BW Flexible Systems, and BW Integrated Systems. Barry-Wehmiller competes with Krones in filling, packaging, and end-of-line equipment for beverage and consumer goods customers, particularly in the Americas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kronesag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/krones-ag
• Xx.com/kronesag
• Facebookfacebook.com/kronesag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A14 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Krones