End-of-life concept for machines

Krones wants to enable its customers to operate climate-neutral production lines for sustainable foods and beverages that keep the materials used in a closed cycle. That is why the circular-economy principles are incorporated in all our product design work, which is rigorously focused on sustainability. Our intention is to ensure that, once the resources and materials have reached the end of their useful life, they can be optimally recycled and then re-used.

15 to 20 productive years? That’s not uncommon for Krones machines because appropriate servicing and maintenance routines and selective retrofits can keep a line’s efficiency and reliability at an optimum level over a long period of time. That is precisely the goal pursued by the Krones Lifecycle Service team: to provide our customers with responsively tailored services in order to maximise their kit’s operational lifetime.

How to effectively extend a machine’s useful life

Even though it will happen later rather than sooner for a Krones machine – one day, the point will be reached when it has to be removed from the production line. What happens then? No matter whether the machine is sold, dismantled, recycled or professionally disposed of, the Krones Lifecycle Service team and our ecomac subsidiary (the specialists for pre-owned machinery) offer a variety of options for our machines once they have reached the end of their operational lifetime.

At present, a comprehensive set of instructions is drawn up for customers who wish to dispose of their equipment themselves. The aim is to provide them with easy-to-follow guidelines, specifying all the materials used in our machines and setting out precisely what to do with each of them.

Possible options for a machine at the end of its operational lifetime: