Packaging and filling equipment manufacturer KHS Group is nearing the completion of a five-year €20 million ($22m) project to upgrade its headquarters in Dortmund, Germany.

As part of a raft of measures to improve competitiveness, the company has built a 4,300 sq metre production facility on the Dortmund site, while renovating a second existing factory.

KHS’s Dortmund headquarters primarily manufactures machines for labelling, pasteurisation and bottle washing, plus container conveyor technology for industrial beverage production.

It said the new production facility contained technology that allowed container and pack conveyors to be merged, making order processing more efficient.

As part of a £6m ($6.6m) investment, the existing factory has been given a new floor and roof. Improvements have also been made to the sheet metal manufacturing department, housed within the facility.

New technology within the department includes a faster, more efficient fibre laser, a combined punching/laser machine and a larger, fully-networked sheet metal warehouse.

Plant manager Dr Joachim Konrad said the improvements were “absolutely essential” if KHS was to compete with the market.

“As a company active worldwide, we find ourselves in a competitive situation and want to carry on manufacturing in Germany,” he said. “We’ve, therefore, further digitalised and automated our infrastructure and processes in production.”

The changes meant KHS customers in the beverage industry could benefit from a more personalised approach, Konrad suggested.

“Demands are becoming more complex,” he said. “Like when you configure a new car nowadays, we can customise our filling and packaging systems to suit the precise requirements of the respective customer.

“We cater for the huge individualism of each customer with our cleverly compiled, standardised product modules that allow systems to be designed and constructed in automated processes.”

The 1,200 staff employed at the Dortmund headquarters have also benefited from its upgrade, with the refurbishment of the site canteen and a number of office areas, KHS said.

“The Dortmund plant is extremely important to the KHS Group, also because of its standing as our international company headquarters,” said Konrad. “With our investments we’re making it fit for the future – this sends out a strong signal to the regional economy.”

KHS is also supporting the local economy by helping to devise a ‘Science 2.0 master-plan’, which was adopted by Dortmund council last year with the support of local businesses and TU Dortmund University.

“We’re pleased to be doing our bit for a strong regional economy and can apply our practical experience in this area,” added Konrad. “As a large industrial employer, we also benefit from well-trained specialist workers.”

KHS is part of the Salzgitter Group and supplies global brands including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Tuborg.

The cookie settings on this website are set to “allow cookies” to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click “Accept” below then you are consenting to this.