Krone’s generational growth

In a constantly evolving globalised economy, Krone is something of an anomaly. A rare breed among multinationals. 

After 119 years of operation, Krone is still owned and operated by the Krone family, with the corporate entity Bernard Krone Holding SE & Co. KG, the parent company of the Krone Group. 

The family business, with interests in electrified and refrigerated trailers, semi-trailer combinations, axles, agricultural harvesting equipment and more, is currently under the stewardship of the fourth generation of Krones. 

It is truly a family concern, with four generations of ‘Bernard Krones’ having been at the company’s helm throughout its rich history. 

The latest iteration was in 2010 when Dr Bernard Krone handed over the management of the company to his son Bernard. 

While it has modernised over the decades, embracing up-to-date technological advances, Krone is still intrinsically bound to its agricultural roots, harking back to the days of the early 1900s when it started out as a smithy’s workshop in Spelle, tucked away in Germany’s Lower Saxony farming region, near the Dutch border. 

It was borne of an era when a man’s word was his bond and customer satisfaction was paramount, providing a quality product for a fair price. 

The fledgling company was forged on the ‘olde world’ values of taking care of the customer, the employee, the company – values, which today, are still firmly embedded in the Krone DNA. 

At the turn of the 20th century, founder Bernard Krone understood that to adhere to these values, while maintaining a healthy business that meets customers’ needs, you had to adapt with the times. That meant innovating. 

The ethos of ‘tradition meets innovation’ is still practised today. 

The company’s dedication to innovating to meet customers’ needs, and to be ahead of the curve, has manifested itself throughout Krone’s history. 

Krone developed agricultural trailers in 1948 to meet the demands of the burgeoning agricultural sector, with which the company had close links. 

Its steady growth saw Krone develop its first coil liner trailer in 1973, fitted with a special trough for the safe transport of steel rolls. 

This was followed in 1981, when Krone developed the short coupling that significantly increased transport capacities, and a first for Krone when, in 1990, it launched its Mega Trailer with a clear internal height of 3,000mm. 

More innovations were to come, with it being the world’s first trailer manufacturer in 1997 to introduce cathodic dip coating plus powder processing for long-term rust protection. 

The 2000s saw Krone advance R&D endeavours in sustainable practices, acknowledging its historic ties to the agriculture sector of north-west Germany. 

The decade resulted in Krone setting new standards for the transport industry with innovations such as its Safe Liner, the fuel-efficient, long-distance goods transporter, the Euro Combi (2004), the aerodynamic Profi Liner ECO semitrailer (2008) that reduced fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions. 

These were followed by Krone’s Aero Liner project study in 2012, where it explored developments in energy-efficient trailers, and the Krone Surface Centre in 2018. 

The company’s growth stemming from its innovations, saw it undertake a number of mergers and acquisitions between 2013 and 2019, expanding its base as a trailer OEM and industry innovator. 

The adherence to R&D saw it open its Krone Validation Centre Future Lab in Lingen in 2021, followed the next year by the development of its innovative Krone e-Trailer, equipped with powerful electric axles that allow for CO₂ emissions to be reduced by 20 to 40 per cent. 

The company’s laser focus on improving products for customer benefit has extended to the development, manufacture and sales of commercial vehicles, where it has implemented a certified environmental management system. 

This system ensures that emissions, noise and odours are reduced, while the company minimises the amount of waste produced, and water used. 

That wholehearted dedication to customers, employees and innovation, while maintaining strong bonds with the local community, has seen Krone steadily grow over the past century to where it has generated revenue of more than €1 billion. 

Krone’s most recent innovation endeavours have been in the high-demand sector of cold chain or refrigerated logistics. 

It’s a natural progression for the company that already delivers to the market refrigerated trailer options. 

Markets are forecasting that the global cold logistics industry will grow to be worth about $372 billion USD (€344 billion) by 2029 – a growth rate of almost 11 per cent. 

In keeping with its mantra to create innovations that efficiently answer customer needs, Krone has developed its new electrified ‘Cool Liner’ transport cooler that combines efficiency, flexibility and sustainability. 

With its new product, Krone is addressing the conundrum faced by refrigerated logistics – transporting sensitive goods, such as food or medicines, under precisely controlled conditions, while using energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions. 

An unstable cold chain can lead to a loss of quality and resultant financial losses, while rising energy costs and stricter environmental regulations place additional demands on transport companies. 

With greater controls and legislative requirements relating to CO₂ emissions, hauliers need to embrace solutions that combine environmental friendliness with economic efficiency. 

Krone has met the multi-challenges of energy and economic efficiencies and precise temperature control head on, culminating in refrigerated logistics latest offering – the Cool Liner, a combination of cutting-edge technology and flexibility. 

With its continuous chassis, the Krone Cool Liner offers a particularly stable chassis that forms the basis for a sustainably efficient vehicle. 

The optimised insulation of the body not only reduces ongoing energy costs, but also makes an important contribution to sustainability in logistics. 

Modern sensor technology and intelligent control systems ensure that the temperature in the cargo area remains constant. 

This means that the temperature relevant to the respective product remains within a selected interval at all times and the cold chain is maintained – a decisive factor for food safety. 

The Cool Liner not only sets standards in energy efficiency, but its flexibility also makes it a versatile solution for different transport requirements 

The model variations range from the Cool Liner Multitemp, which enables different temperature zones, to the Cool Liner Doppelstock, which enables twice the pallet volume to be loaded. 

There is also the Cool Liner Meathang, which was specially designed for hanging meat transport. 

In developing its electrified and supremely sustainable Cool Liner, Krone has partnered with an established leader in refrigerated transport solutions – Thermo King – to create a solution for multiple transport operations. 

In combination with Thermo King’s AxlePower, Krone is able to offer customers the Cool Liner as a pioneering, emission-free refrigerated transport solution. 

Crucially, the all-electric Thermo King Advancer A-500e refrigeration unit is supplied with energy via a recuperating BPW-ePower generator axle and the Thermo King EnergE Pack. 

The energy generated during braking and rolling feeds the battery pack mounted under the body, which ensures cooling operation while travelling and when stationary. 

A major advantage of this system is that the refrigeration unit emits neither CO₂ nor particulate matter emissions. 

It also operates much more quietly than conventional diesel units – a crucial advantage for night-time deliveries in residential areas. 

In addition, the arrangement of the battery pack ensures a more even weight distribution, which reduces the risk of overcharging the drive axle when partially loaded. 

Thanks to a type 2 charging socket, the battery pack can also be charged externally, and the unit can be operated via a 400V shore power supply. 

With the refrigeration logistics sector constantly growing and evolving globally, Krone is not resting on its laurels when it comes to innovations in this field. 

It fully recognises that, in addition to ensuring an unbroken cold chain, environmental and efficiency issues are also playing an increasingly important role. 

With its environmental credentials clearly evident, Krone has addressed the sector with its technologically advanced Cool Liner with Thermo King AxlePower, thus that sustainable approaches are already practicable today. 

The family-run company with traditional business values is fully cognisant of the trend towards emission-free transport and optimised energy efficiency continuing and expanding, providing new impetus and opportunities for the market that thrives on innovation. 

The Cool Liner is another, very current, example of Krone’s mantra for success – to provide exemplary products at a fair price, coupled with innovative prowess, a service provider mentality and attention to the customers.  

Read about other innovations by Krone Trailers.