Spelle, 27th November 2014: Minister President of Lower Saxony Stephan Weil yesterday ceremonially handed over the keys to the new Krone Technology Centre. “With this investment package worth around €50 million, Krone has consolidated its standing as a top innovator while emphasising its commitment to the region,” said Weil in his keynote speech.

Company owner Bernard Krone explained the overall concept behind the Maschinenfabrik 2015 project to the 270 or so guests: “Krone has been investing systematically and on a large scale at the Spelle site over recent years to increase the efficiency of production and all associated processes in the agricultural machinery plant. The expansion of the logistics centre, the inauguration of our new training centre, the new Big X assembly line and – not least of course – the construction of our new Technology Centre have put us in a strong position. This programme has laid solid foundations for further growth.” He also took the opportunity to reflect on the past financial year in which the agricultural machinery and commercial trailer divisions together with their sales subsidiaries have generated revenue of more than €1.6 billion.

The new Krone Technology Centre houses nearly 500 employees from a range of departments, including Research & Development, Testing & Prototyping, IT, Procurement, Technical Marketing, Product Management and Project Management. The five-storey building has 8,000m² of modern office space and 5,000m² of workshop space for prototype assembly. The office block measures 18 metres from front to back, 95 metres in length and is 20 metres tall. Krone has invested €14.5 million in the Technology Centre, including testing and prototyping costs.