Dr Bernard Krone celebrates 70th birthday

Dr Bernard Krone celebrates his seventieth birthday on 23rd April 2010. The owner and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Bernard Krone Holding GmbH & Co KG in Spelle (Emsland) is one of the most prominent figures in the German agricultural machinery and commercial trailer industry. Dr Krone’s approach to business is all about honesty, customer accessibility, a pledge for innovation and abiding commitment. He sums up his own personal philosophy in a quote from Dante Alighieri: “Some people wait for times to change; others take the change into their own hands.”

After graduating in Agricultural Engineering in Cologne in 1963, Bernard Krone joined his parents’ company. He first spent a period working in Ireland, then moved back to Spelle to take up the role of authorised signatory. In 1968, he was appointed CEO. When his father died at a relatively young age in 1970, Bernard Krone as sole heir became the company’s owner. He embarked upon the construction of the trailer manufacturing plant at Werlte, with the first products to emerge from its assembly line being tipper trailers. In the mid-70s, a strategic decision was taken to expand into commercial trailer manufacturing. Since then, the Werlte plant has been producing semitrailers, trailers and swap systems.

In the 1980s, Bernard Krone steered the Spelle factory towards specialising in forage harvesting technology. Then, in the late 1990s, Krone decided to enter the self-propelled machinery market. Since that time, Krone has been building the self-propelled high-performance Big M mower and the Big X forage harvester.

In 1988, Bernard Krone was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Braunschweig Carolo Wilhelmina Technical University for his services to agricultural technology. In his eulogy at the degree congregation, the then DLG President Philip Freiherr von dem Bussche said: “To me, Bernard Krone is a perfect example of how family-run enterprises can sometimes strike it really lucky: a man characterised by self-motivation, independence of mind, unswerving conviction, great generosity and deeply rooted loyalty to his local community.” For his professional activities, Bernard Krone was also awarded the Max Eyth Gold Medal, the Tilo Freiherr von Wilmowsky Medal and the Order of Merit, which is awarded by the Federal State of Lower Saxony.

During his career, Bernard Krone has held (and continues to hold) honorary office in many professional associations. For example, between 1988 and 1995 he was President of the LAV association of agricultural and arable tractor makers and in 1992/93 served a term as President of CEMA, the Committee of European Agricultural Machinery. In his capacity as representative of the commercial trailer manufacturers, Dr Krone was elected to a seat on the board of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) in 2003, and since 2004, he has been one of its three Vice Presidents.

More recently, Dr Bernard Krone has withdrawn from the day-to-day running of the Krone Group, entrusting responsibility to his experienced team of executive officers, to the Executive Chairman of the Advisory Board and to his daughter and son. Dorothee Renzelmann and Bernard Krone are now the fourth generation to have entered the family business. “I am immensely proud that my daughter and son are now playing such a pivotal part in steering the company,” says Dr Krone. “I have no intention of interfering in their decisions. However, if they need my advice, I will always be happy to oblige.”

The septuagenarian Dr Krone will stay on as an honorary officer of the VDA. He is now looking forward to spending more time with his wife Maria, his children and grandchildren, and to devoting more time to his keenest leisure-time activity – hunting.


Krone: Facts and figures
Over the last half century, annual sales figures for the Krone Group have risen from around €8.5m to €870m. The company is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of both agricultural machinery and commercial trailers.

Krone is one of the biggest employers in the North German Emsland region: The Spelle factory has a workforce of around 1,000, another 200 work for the LVD operation (Agricultural Machinery Trade & Services Ltd.). The commercial trailer plant at Werlte employs around 520 people, and an additional 1,000 work for other companies in the region that operate exclusively as suppliers to Krone.