Filling Technology every time

When the skilled machine fitter is asked about his work, the passion just pours out of him. He completed his vocational training at Krones way back in 1979 and has now been working in Filling Technology for 40 years. Over that time, he has been through quite a number of stages, whether as an apprentice in Labelling Technology or during his military service, when he built his first filler as a holiday job. He then joined the company full-time as a mechanic in Filling Technology. “I very quickly discovered that Filling Technology is with you for life,” he recalls. He has lived by this conviction ever since, working his way up from fitter to foreman, junior to senior master craftsman and, finally, head of department. In 2020 he started looking after technical coordination, supporting projects from receipt of the order to delivery.  

 “He knows everything!” 

Piendl still feels at home in the plant. He has a story ready for every machine that is being built here, knowing them like the back of his hand. From the Modulfill to the Contipure, the complex processes in the machines are part and parcel of his everyday life. He has acquired this expertise over decades, and his experience makes him a trusted point of contact for his colleagues. “He knows everything and has done everything”, says Sebastian Wittl, a product manager in Filling Technology. “I really value the experience that Peter shares with us and that we can learn from him.”  

Piendl, too, is delighted to be able to pass on his knowledge. “When I have time, I grab hold of someone or other and take them to the hall. You may know a lot of things from hearing about them, but in my opinion, you really need to have seen them for yourself to understand the context.” He goes on to say that it's important to ensure that the knowledge of the older generation doesn't disappear when they retire from Krones but is passed on to their successors.  

No hint of boredom 

“Filling Technology is incredibly innovative, no day is boring and there's always a new challenge to overcome.” Piendl is particularly proud of one incident in particular: “Once we delivered a filler with a diameter of seven metres into the French Alps. I was then sent some photos with the message that the road was too narrow for the machine. We looked for alternative routes, but for one reason or another we couldn’t use any of them. Our next idea: a helicopter. We’d thought of the same thing when we had a similar problem in Tokyo before, but we then rejected the idea on grounds of cost. In the end we dismantled the machine. With a maximum weight of 2.5 tonnes, the parts were manoeuvred through the narrow village streets standing almost vertically on a special loader.”  

From a small business to a global group

During his many years in Filling Technology Piendl has seen at first hand how the industry – and Krones – have changed. Piendl may not yet have been in the company when Hermann Kronseder hit upon the idea for the first block in 1975, but he later worked on the machine that ultimately brought about the breakthrough in 1983: the SuperBLOC with an output of 60,000 bottles per hour. The concept is still going strong years later.  

Piendl has witnessed the development of both the ErgoBloc L and the Dynafill up close. He also notices the trends that affect container types. Whether glass, can or PET, there is a block for each vessel and the requirements change constantly. Just like Krones itself. In Piendl’s early days, the company consisted of 855 employees – today, there are more than 20,000 worldwide. A lot has changed along the way – from communication with customers to a transformation in values when it comes to sustainability: “The 1.5-litre PET bottles used to weigh up to 43 grammes, but now our lightest model of the 0.5-litre bottle only comes in at about eight grammes,” Piendl says with satisfaction. 

One thing has remained the same over the years, though: the passion he has for his job. On the question of whether he would go down the same route if he had the choice again, Piendl answers with a smile: “Filling Technology every time.”