FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILTY
Steel coils from Salzgitter .
The aim is for every company to support each other across the various sectors and provide mutual encouragement through cooperation . Strategic partnerships are key , including those that help to afford access to high-quality sources of scrap and regenerative energies and make green hydrogen available .
The crux of the new group strategy is to turn the focus to people , an aspect expressed in the extended corporate claim of ‘ people , steel and technology ’.
“ In our new strategy , people are the pioneers who ensure the success of our corporate vision ,” Groebler explained . “ They contribute their ideas , achieve them and drive the transformation of Salzgitter AG . Without our employees , all that we imagine is impossible .”
To highlight this , Acker pointed to the expected huge drop in personnel .
“ In the next ten years , we ’ ll lose between 25 and 30 % of our employees throughout the entire group as a result of demographic change . This presents us with the challenge of securing our current expertise and building on it . It also poses the question as to how we as an employer can stay attractive and encourage young people to come and work for us . This is a global issue and an exciting task ,” he explained .
Proving lower emissions
However , change is being chiefly driven by the global debate on the climate . To date , the main concern when deciding to invest was the price of procurement of KHS machines , with their manufacturers primarily yielding profits through maintenance and service . The focus has now shifted .
“ We ’ re being asked which specific contributions we can make for our customers in the beverage industry and have to provide information on machine data , energy
Above : Mark Anthony Brewing Inc . has invested in four canning lines and two repackaging lines from KHS for variety packs at its Glendale site .
consumption , the carbon footprint and much more ,” Acker emphasized .
One example is Heineken which is constructing a brewery where carbon neutrality was top of the list of priorities , even before the ground-breaking ceremony .
“ Companies naturally weigh up what we can contribute . And even if our own footprint is relatively low for new machines , in the future a decision in favour of KHS will be made on how our systems can positively influence our customers ’ carbon balance throughout the machinery ’ s entire life cycle . This calls for extensive and credible reporting not just of our German activities . With the help of auditors , we need to provide proof of what we ’ re doing to promote sustainability at our production sites in Brazil , Mexico , the USA , India and China , for example – and how successful we are here ,” he explained .
One of the most effective measures being undertaken is to force the local-to-local approach , stated Acker , where production and after sales ( in particular ) are organized decentrally in countries where the engineering company is active . The resulting cessation of elaborate shipping operations and the use of digital solutions enable considerable savings in CO₂ to be made that the company will increasingly exploit in the future .
The Salzgitter Group provides support here ,
Groebler added .
“ We work closely together as sparring partners on concepts designed to log and cut carbon emissions – whether these be sustainability reports or EcoVadis certification , to name two examples ,” he explained .
Unlike the other group companies with their focus on steel , in return the Technology Business Unit can contribute new angles and approaches to Salzgitter AG ’ s efforts towards more sustainability .
Acker has a clear answer to the question of where KHS will be in ten years as part of the sustainable corporate group focused on the circular economy .
“ We ’ ll have examined our products in detail as to their circularity and optimised them so that as many components as possible can be refurbished , reused or recycled at the end of the machine life cycle . In doing so , we ’ ll continue to concentrate on our core field of business in the beverage sector . We ’ ll grow organically together with the market that promises great potential in view of the rising world population .”
Indicators of success
In its core area of competence in beverage filling , in addition to kegs KHS has three hugely strong mainstays in glass , cans and PET . Acker sees vast opportunities with the latter , in particular .
Alongside organic growth in KHS ’ main area of business , Acker believes digitalisation to be a major future issue . KHS has already achieved a lot in this field yet will exploit its potential here even more strongly in the future . The prime activities he lists in this context include predictive maintenance , the manufacturing execution systems or MES provided by the Dortmund engineering company , various automation projects and KHS ’ remote
Palletising robot from KHS ( image : KHS GmbH ).