13.02.2023 - News article

February: KRONEN likes the new HEWA

Using research findings to develop a new generation of washing machines

Who: As KRONEN’s Head of Project Management, Andreas Ell is involved in a variety of research and development projects. He also incorporates his expertise as a project manager into customer projects of all shapes and sizes. The KRONEN team supports its customers in such projects from consulting to developing new solutions or adapting machines or lines to meet specific customer requirements and right through to installation and commissioning.

Like: “Our work with research establishments, industry-specific cooperation partners and customers provides us with a close insight into the latest expert findings and the challenges involved in the market. As a result, we can offer tailor-made solutions using state-of-the-art technology. One example of the successful transfer of research findings into market-ready solutions is the new HEWA washing machine, which we are presenting at the Fruit Logistica trade show.”

The HEWA 3800 is an upgrade of the well-established GEWA 3800 PLUS washing machine. It has been optimized in terms of hygiene and a reduced cleaning time, for example the fact that the machine has no horizontal surfaces, thus allowing the water to discharge optimally. What’s more, the machine can also be fully dismantled for easy and thorough cleaning. The work on the washing machine upgrade incorporated the experience of customers who use the GEWA 3800 PLUS and findings from the research project SPLASH, which focuses on developing an innovative washing procedure for freshly cut lettuce on the basis of non-thermal plasma technology. Beyond this project, KRONEN also works in cooperation with its partners from the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Research and Technology (INP Greifswald), and the food producer Gartenfrisch Jung GmbH  to verify, evaluate and further develop the results of the project in additional practical tests.

“Exchanging expertise and experiences with our research partners and providers of additional industry solutions and obtaining specialist and practical knowledge from our customers play a very important role for our company and are incorporated into our day-to-day work. This approach enables us to constantly work on technologies and solutions that are completely new to the market or to further develop existing technologies and solutions based on new findings – all to the benefit of our customers.”