Further development in an eventful year: KRONEN takeover of WS Edelstahltechnik, certification according to ISO 9001: 2015 and digitization shaped 2020:
The past year brought with it some changes and challenges for KRONEN as well - which we, however, mastered thanks to our committed employees, the trusting cooperation with our worldwide representations and the good cooperation with our customers.
In the first half of the year, KRONEN set the strategic course for the future with the successful completion of two projects: On the one hand, the turning and milled parts manufacturer WS Edelstahltechnik was integrated as a KRONEN division in spring, increasing the vertical range of manufacture and the number of employees to a total of 120. In addition, KRONEN's quality management system (QMS) was certified according to ISO 9001: 2015, which is also to be achieved for the WS Edelstahltechnik division in 2021.
2020 got off to a promising start with the well-attended, annual Fruit Logistica trade fair - even though it was already evident that only a few Asian visitors came to Berlin due to first travel restrictions. Despite the emerging challenges that caused a decline in sales and the introduction of short-time work, KRONEN was internationally successful with its established sales partner network and delivered machines and processing systems to customers worldwide.
The KRONEN team demonstrated flexibility and shifted the exchange with customers and representations to digital channels in order to compensate for the limited travel options. For the first time, product inspections took place digitally via video conference or as a hybrid event with a few people on site and other participants attending via video call. The latter was successfully used, for example, on a washing line for the production of kosher food for a North American customer in order to enable detailed inspection despite travel restrictions. The regular sales meeting also took place online for the first time and enabled digital workshops, live machine demonstrations and the exchange of experiences for the international representatives.
Despite the ongoing challenging situation, KRONEN looks to 2021 with confidence and continues to be a reliable partner to the fresh-cut industry.
