Bernard Krone Holding

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Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG
Company typeSE & Co. KG
IndustryHeavy equipment
Founded1906
FounderBernhard Krone
Anna Krone
HeadquartersSpelle
Number of locations
109 Countries
Key people
David Frink (CEO Group)
Stefan Binnewies (COO)
Ole Klose (CFO)[1] Advisory Board:
Bernard Krone (Chair)
Alfons Veer (Deputy Chairman)
Philip Freiherr von dem Bussche
Wilhelm-Friedrich Holtgrave
Bernd Meerpohl
Tono Nasch[2]
Productsagricultural machinery, semi-trailers, trailers, box vehicles, swap systems and others
RevenueIncrease €2.5bn (2022)[3]
Increase €84.6M (2022)[3]
Decrease €64.6M (2022)[4]
Total assetsIncrease €1.7bn (2022)[3]
Total equityIncrease €701.6M (2022)[3]
Number of employees
5,768 (2022)[3]
Websitekrone-group.com

Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG is an agricultural technology and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in Spelle in the Emsland district, Lower Saxony.[5] The company acts as the parent company and corporate headquarters of the Krone Group. The Krone Group is wholly owned by the Krone family.[3][1]

History[edit]

Founding and early years[edit]

In 1906, Bernhard Krone and his wife Anna Krone established a farm-based blacksmith shop for horseshoeing and repair work. Subsequently, Krone secured the distribution rights for Heinrich Lanz AG within the Emsland district and began to develop and market its own agricultural machinery. With the development of a patented animal-operated pasture trough, the company assumed its role as both distributor and manufacturer of agricultural equipment. Post-World War II, Krone started to produce tractor wagons. In 1963, a separate factory was built in Werlte for the production of trailers.[6]

In the late 1950s, Bernard Krone I, the son of the company's founder, invented the Optimat manure spreader, which was intended to make agricultural field work easier.[7]

KRONE BiG X 1180
KRONE Cool Liner

Expansion in Germany and abroad[edit]

In 1963, the Bernard Krone company moved part of its agricultural machinery production to a 5-hectare industrial site in Werlte. The background to the company move was an order for the construction of 20 three-axle trailers.[8] In the same year, the company commenced building its production halls and manufacturing agricultural machinery.[9]

At the end of the 1960s, demand for Krone agricultural machinery decreased due to a diminishing number of farmers in Germany. In response to this shift, Bernard Krone II decided, together with his cousins Heinz and Walter Krone, to build truck trailers and semi-trailers for the commercial vehicle industry.[6][10]

After his father's death in 1970, Bernard Krone III took over,[11] and the company started producing trailers and semi-trailers for transporting goods on the road.[12] As sales and profits stagnated in the beginning of the 1980s, Krone hired external consulting firms to get to the bottom of the reason for the economic downturn. The consultants recommended separating the vehicle factory and machine factory divisions, whereupon the corporate divisions Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG (Krone Commercial Vehicle SE) in Werlte and Maschinenfabrik Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG (Krone Agriculture SE) in Spelle were founded. Krone also received a recommendation to purchase as many components and services as possible from external suppliers.[10][4] As a result, Krone handed over the production of chassis for truck trailers and semi-trailers to suppliers. Since 1980, Metallbau Schmees GmbH in Lower Saxony has been Krone's supplier for assemblies, main beams and chassis as well as several individual parts. Metallbau Schmees delivers 80 percent of the pieces produced to the Krone factory in Werlte. In addition to German companies, Krone works with suppliers from Slovakia.[13]

Brüggen Oberflächen- und Systemlieferant GmbH began working for Krone in 1984. By 2003, 95 percent of the company's orders came from Krone. In addition to coating chassis, Brüggen builds rear portals and front walls for Krone.[14]

In the 1999 financial year, Krone Holding generated a revenue of DM 231 million.[15]

Acquisitions and realignment[edit]

In 2007, Bernard Krone, the fourth generation of the family, joined the company's management.[16]

In 2007, Krone began building a new assembly plant including a paint shop in Istanbul for €30 million, to produce agricultural machinery and trailers. In the 2006/07 financial year, Krone generated a revenue of €1.2 billion.[10]

Until July 31, 2011, the Krone Group was organizationally divided into three areas: commercial vehicles (Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone), agricultural technology (Maschinenfabrik Bernard Krone), and Bernard Krone agricultural technology sales and services (LVD). On August 1, 2011, the company's agricultural technology sales and services (LVD) was spun off from Bernard Krone Holding. The Krone family continues to own LVD.[4]

From 2011 to 2014, the machine factory in Spelle was renovated for €40 million.[17] In addition to a new technology center and a testing hall, a new logistics and training facility and a new assembly hall for forage harvesters were built.[18][19] In 2012, a production site for the commercial vehicle division was opened in Tire, Turkey,[20] where Krone produces chassis for containers and trailers for the Turkish market as well as for export to North Africa and the Middle East.[20][21] In the 2012 financial year, Krone generated a revenue of €1.4 billion.[22]

In 2013, Krone took over the Dinklage based axle manufacturer Gigant.[19] At the end of 2015, Krone put a new foam system for panel production into operation.[23] Between 2015 and 2020, the vehicle factory in Werlte was renovated for €50 million. In particular, the painting system and the assembly were modified.[17][18] In 2016, the two Emsland-based vehicle manufacturers Krone and Brüggen Group merged under the umbrella of the Krone Commercial Vehicle SE.[24] In addition, the previous subsidiaries Gigant Achsen, Krone Used, the trailer factory in Turkey and the foreign sales companies were integrated into the new Krone Commercial Vehicle SE.[25] In the same year, Krone founded the subsidiary Krone SAS in Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines, France on a 1.6 hectare area.[26] In 2017, Krone built a spare parts center in Herzlake for €8 million. €39 million were spent on the construction of a new painting system in the Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone in Werlte.[27] Also in 2017, the Krone Group founded the startup Rytle with the Bremen consulting company Orbitak, which produces electric-powered cargo bikes that can be used to transport goods in cities.[27][28]

Recent developments[edit]

In 2019, Krone opened the administration building Krone Business Center GmbH & Co. KG for the areas of IT and AP.[29] In the same year, the Krone Group took over 100 percent of the shares of the Dutch Knapen Group, Deurne, and its subsidiaries.[30]

From 2019 to 2021, Krone built a €20 million test center called "Future Lab" on an area of 13 hectares in Lingen. In addition to a machine hall with workshops and a test hall with test stands and offices, the center includes a test track on which the behavior of truck trailers and agricultural machinery on the road is tested.[31][32] In 2022, Krone launched the electrified eTrailer, which is meant to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 to 40 percent.[33] In the same year, Bernard Krone III passed away.[34]

Corporate structure[edit]

Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG is the parent company of the Krone Group. The family business is solely owned by the Krone family.[3][1]

In the 2020/21 financial year, the company had 5,768 employees and generated a revenue of €2.5 billion.[3]

The holding company consists of two judicially independent companies, Krone Commercial Vehicle SE and Krone Agriculture SE.[35] The Krone Commercial Vehicle Group operates production facilities at a total of four locations.[36] The Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG in Werlte, the Brüggen Oberflächen- und Systemlieferant GmbH in Herzlake and the Brüggen Fahrzeugwerk & Service GmbH in Lübtheen represent the German production sites of the commercial vehicles division.[37][38] Krone Ticari Araçlar San. ve Tic. A.Ş. in Tire in Turkey is the company's fourth production facility.[39]

Products[edit]

Krone Commercial Vehicle SE[edit]

The Brüggen company manufactures swap systems and so-called dry freight boxes at the Herzlake location,[40] while refrigerated semi-trailers are produced in Lübtheen.[41] The Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone in Werlte produces curtainsider trailers,[42] flatbed semi-trailers and container chassis,[43] swap body and building material trailers,[44][45] long trucks[46] and dry freight box chassis.[47] Axles for commercial vehicles are manufactured at the Dinklage site.[2] Flatbed semi-trailers and container chassis are produced in Tire in Turkey,[48] while moving floor trailers for the European market are manufactured at the Deurne site in the Netherlands.[49]

Krone Agriculture SE[edit]

Main article: Krone Agriculture

The Krone Agriculture SE focuses on forage harvesting technology.[50] Through Speller Maschinenfabrik, Krone sells machines to farmers and contractors through their dealer network.[51][52] Machines on offer include disc mowers, rotary tedders, round bale and large pack presses[50] as well as loading and transport wagons.[53] The flagships of the program are two self-propelled machines, the Big M mower-conditioner and the BiG X forage harvester.[54] In 2018, Krone expanded the Big X series with the Big X 1180 forage harvester, which has 1,156 hp.[55]

Krone Agriculture machines are sold worldwide through subsidiaries in North America, Europe and China. In addition to sales and services, the Tianjin location in China also carries out assembly work. In North America, the products sold to contractors and farmers are the mower conditioners and forage harvesters, Krone Big M and Big X. At the Spelle location in Germany, Krone is investing in robot-assisted processing technology and in the digitalization of agricultural machinery.[56][57][58]

Awards[edit]

  • 2015: Gold medal for the mobile pellet harvester "Premos 5000" from the German Agricultural Society (DLG)[59]
  • 2017: Innovations Award in silver for the “LiftCab” lift cabin of the "Big X" 70 centimeters by a jury appointed by the German Agricultural Society (DLG)[60]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Bernard Krone Holding: Vorstand um ein weiteres Mitglied erweitert". Eilbote. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Lankreis Emsland: Krone erweitert Aufsichtsrat". Wirtschaft aktuell. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Messerer, Markus (10 January 2023). "Krone Gruppe steigert Umsatz auf 2,5 Milliarden Euro bei leicht schwächerem Ergebnis". Agrartechnik. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Krone: For More of Tomorrow" (PDF). Krone Group. 2022. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Krone-Gruppe steigert Umsatz: Verluste im Auslandsgeschäft". Die Welt. 16 December 2019.
  6. ^ a b Ahrens, Hedwig (14 July 2006). "Seit 100 Jahren auf der Überholspur". Deutschlandfunk. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Unsere Geschichte – Made in Norddeutschland: Krone – der König der Landmaschinen". NDR. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  8. ^ Eden, Jürgen (16 June 2014): "Eine Unternehmerfamilie aus dem Volke". Ems-Zeitung.
  9. ^ "Mehr Lohn bei Brügmann & Sohn". Ems-Zeitung. 10 August 2013.
  10. ^ a b c Peitsmeier, Henning (5 February 2007): "Familienunternehmen sind erfolgreicher". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  11. ^ "Unsere Geschichte – Made in Norddeutschland: Krone – der König der Landmaschinen". Norddeutscher Rundfunk. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  12. ^ "Krone setzt Fahrzeugproduktion aus". Ems Zeitung. 25 Mai 2019.
  13. ^ Schäfer, Waldemar (7 Mai 2003): "Krone setzt auf regionale Zulieferer". Handelsblatt.
  14. ^ Ladleif, Frauke; Prellberg, Michael (23 July 2010): "Jeder Auslandsmarkt ist anders: Konzerne bevorzugen eine ausgefeilte Strategie, Mittelständler suchen sich lieber vertrauenswürdige Partner vor Ort: Bei der Internationalisierung gelten ganz eigene Regeln". Financial Times Deutschland.
  15. ^ Voss, Karlheinz (11 November 1999): "Mittelstand hält bei Landmaschinen eine starke Position". Handelsblatt.
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  17. ^ a b "Branche leidet, Krone glänzt". Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. 29 October 2015.
  18. ^ a b Pertz, Thomas (29 October 2015): "Krone investiert bis zu 50 Millionen in Werlte". Ems-Zeitung.
  19. ^ a b "Krone-Gruppe erreicht fast 1,5 Milliarden Euro Umsatz". Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. 6 March 2014.
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  21. ^ Kallmeier, Nina (21 October 2019): "Wir sehen langfristig die Perspektive". Lingener Tagespost.
  22. ^ "Aktiv gegen den Fachkräftemangel". Ems-Zeitung. 29 November 2012.
  23. ^ Meier, Thorsten (10 February 2016): "Für Mitarbeiter ändert sich nichts: Trailer-Hochzeit von Brüggen und Krone in Lübtheen sorgt für Unruhe in Stadt/Gerüchte über Entlassungen seien falsch, so die Firma". Schweriner Volkszeitung.
  24. ^ "Emsländische Trailer-Hochzeit von Krone und Brüggen". Ems-Zeitung.17 December 2015.
  25. ^ Gallandi, Tim (17 December 2015): "Fahrzeugbauer fusionieren". Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung.
  26. ^ "Speller Unternehmen Krone mit Tochter in Frankreich". Ems-Zeitung. 20 July 2016.
  27. ^ a b Schürmeyer, Jörg (15 December 2017): "Krone erntet Rekord-Umsatzzahlen: Bilanz Emsländer wachsen mit Nutzfahrzeugen und Landtechnik – Feldversuch mit Lastenfahrrädern". Nordwest-Zeitung.
  28. ^ Moormann, Mirco (8 July 2019): "Markt mit E-Lastenrädern nimmt Fahrt auf". Lingener Tagespost.
  29. ^ Mammes, Hermann-Josef (22 August 2019): "Krone-Business-Center in Haselünne eröffnet". Lingener Tagespost.
  30. ^ "Krone übernimmt niederländische Knapen-Gruppe". Lingener Tagespost. 27 June 2019.
  31. ^ Röser, Mike (1 March 2019): "Krone-Gruppe testet ab 2020 in Lingen". Ems-Zeitung.
  32. ^ Pertz, Thomas (22 September 2021): "Im Future Lab testet Krone die Zukunft". Lingener Tagespost.
  33. ^ Bäumer, Simon (27 October 2022). "DB Schenker bestellt 2000 eTrailer von Krone". amz: Die Aftermarketzeitschrift. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  34. ^ Schmailzl, Evelyn (14 October 2022). "Landtechnik: Landtechnik-Unternehmer Dr. Bernard Krone verstorben". Agrarheute. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  35. ^ Böckermann, Tobias (12 January 2023): "Mehr Mitarbeiter, weniger Gewinn". Lingener Tagespost.
  36. ^ Moormann, Mirco (25 March 2021). "Chef Bernard Krone kritisiert Politik: Corona-Pandemie kostet Krone-Gruppe aus Spelle Millionen". Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  37. ^ "Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG, Werlte". North Data. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  38. ^ Diers, Helmut (13 March 2016). "Frauen Union besichtigt Firma: Brüggen in Herzlake auf Wachstumskurs". Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  39. ^ "Firmenprofil: Krone Ticarie Araclar Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi". Dun & Bradsheet. 2 October 2023.
  40. ^ Müller, Kristina (8 August 2019): "Krone verlängert Betriebsferien in Werlte". Ems-Zeitung.
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  42. ^ "Branchenpreis für Fahrzeugwerk Krone". Ems-Zeitung. 4 July 2017.
  43. ^ "News IAA Voices: Interview Krone". IAA Transportation. 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  44. ^ "Fahrzeugwerk Bernard Krone GmbH & Co. KG". VDA: Verband der Automobilindustrie. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  45. ^ Spotz, Suanne (9 February 2016). "Krone präsentiert Baustoffanhänger Load Carrier mit Bordwandhebehilfe". eurotransport.de. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  46. ^ "Viel Platz für Ihre Ladung". Krone: Produkte. 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  47. ^ "Anhänger und Auflieger Krone". eurotransport.de. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  48. ^ "Krone eröffnet offiziell Trailer-Fabrik in Tire (Türkei)". Mediengruppe Telematikmarkt.de. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  49. ^ "Angebotspalette erweitert". Verkehrsrundschau. 4 December 2009.
  50. ^ a b Alge, Carola (26 February 2019): "Krone bald auch in Haselünne". Meppener Tagespost.
  51. ^ Röser, Mike (12 March 2022): "40-Millionen-Invest trotz Krisen". Lingener Tagespost.
  52. ^ "Krone: 15 neue Maschinen für Lohnunternehmen". Eilbote. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  53. ^ Hoffmann, Leander (3 September 2021). "Produktneuheit Transporttechnik: Krone zeigt erstmals Rollbandwagen GX". Agrarheute. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  54. ^ "Zentralelektrik und Power Box für Landmaschinen". Elektronikpraxis. 10 March 2022.
  55. ^ Deter, Alfons (12 September 2019). "BiG X 1180: Der stärkste Feldhäcksler der Welt von Krone". Top Agrar Online. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  56. ^ Esterer, Madalena (9 April 2010). "Strategische Erweiterung in Nordamerika: Krone eröffnet neue Filiale in Reno". Landtechnikmagazin.de. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  57. ^ Eikel, Gottfried (2015). "Amazone eröffnet Niederlassung in China". profi: Magazin für professionelle Agrartechnik. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  58. ^ Arnold, Lukas (14 January 2021). "Krone Gruppe: Bereit für neue Herausforderungen". Agratechnik. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  59. ^ "Busemann: Landwirtschaft heute ist Hochtechnologie". Ems-Zeitung. 16 November 2015.
  60. ^ Cornelius, Immo (6 October 2017). "Innovations Award Krone LiftCab: Innovations Award in Silber für Kabinenlift". Agrarheute. Retrieved 15 October 2023.

External links[edit]

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