The Krones Sales Regions are looking forward to the drinktec: NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA

All over the world, people are consuming more and more packaged beverages. The growth trend has been progressing for years now, and there is no sign of it slackening. Whereas demand for packaged beverages is rising in the China, Asia-Pacific and MENA/Africa regions, the mature markets like Europe and North America are saturated: here, food and beverage producers have to prioritise distinctive packaging variants in order to stand out from their competitors. Many beverage producers are therefore planning to significantly increase the diversity of their end-products in the years ahead.

Andreas Müller, Senior Vice President Sales North and Central America, tells us what clients in his sales region are interested in, and how important the drinktec is for customer relations.

Mister Müller, the drinktec is fast approaching. How important is it for the clients, particularly in your own region?

The drinktec is regarded as a milestone in our sector; it’s used as its most important platform, to clarify quotations and orders, for instance, and for placing orders as well. But it’s also a major communication platform, of course, at which cross-sectional information is exchanged.

What does the beverage market look like in your region? What Krones themes are of particular interest for your clients?

This involves the various resources being used: materials, human beings, consumables. What’s extremely important for our clients is everything to do with the issue of performance enhancement and material economies. In particular, the keyword of “lightweighting” needs mentioning here. There’s keen interest, too, in the KISS principle (Keep It Simple & Stupid). This means that the machines’ complexity needs to be reduced, rendering them easy to operate.

What do you personally expect from the drinktec? Is it still the industry’s most important sectoral meet-up?

Most definitely. The drinktec is enormously important. Contacts and relationships with clients are widened and consolidated. I’m expecting huge numbers of clients from all over the world to visit us there. And we’ll be able to update our assessments of our competitors and reinforce our market position. I’m looking forward to the drinktec, and to plenty of fruitful encounters with our clients.