KRONE officially inaugurates new coating centre

40 million Euro investment in Werlte

As part of the "Krone Future Lab", Bernard Krone and Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer officially opened the new Krone Coating Centre (OFZ) at the Werlte site in front of around 400 invited guests. In the new 16,500 sqm building, which is over 20 m high, chassis for semi-trailers are cathodically dip-painted and powder-coated to provide maximum protection against environmental influences. With this plant, Krone invests in state-of-the-art processes with high automation. The cycle time of a chassis is then just under 7 minutes. The new surface coating offers outstanding value retention and high investment protection for customers, because Krone trailers are weather-resistant and durable according to the latest requirements. "The commissioning of the new Coating Centre is an important milestone in our quality offensive. The new surface coating system is state-of-the-art - there is no more modern system in the world. The technology in the OFZ stands for an outstanding stable value of the vehicles produced here. Furthermore, with this investment, which by the way is the highest single investment in the entire Krone history, we are clearly committed to Werlte and the Emsland region", says owner Bernard Krone. It was also a particular concern of his to set up production under modern environmental protection aspects. Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer was impressed by the new OFZ, which also scores in terms of sustainability. This is because production saves energy and resources and significantly reduces emissions. So good that the German Energy Agency (Dena) recently recognized the Krone plant as a lighthouse project for the energy-efficient use of waste heat. Per chassis, carbon dioxide emissions are reduced by more than 30 percent. At the same time, 12.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity are saved per year. The investment volume for the ultra-modern plant amounts to around EUR 40 million. The resources and technologies used are constantly monitored and are incorporated into Krone's environmental management system certified to DIN ISO 50001. This guarantees the best possible production conditions for maximum quality at all times.