German bottling machinery manufacturer Krones (Neutraubling; www.krones.com) has started construction of its plant in Hungary. The groundbreaking ceremony took place in mid-August in Debrecen / Hungary. The manufacturer of packaging and filling technology, focused on PET containers, said production could begin as early as the second half of 2019, and around 500 jobs will be created at the site.

Krones announced its expansion into Hungary in 2017 – see Plasteurope.com of 18.10.2017 – and at that time, the launch of production was scheduled for the beginning of 2019. The company did not cite reasons for the later start-up date. From 2018 to 2020, the company is investing more than EUR 49m for its Hungarian facility. Krones said it has further plans to relocate certain engineering planning processes to Hungary.