On May 1, 2025, the Lower Saxony-based Krone Group, with its two divisions of agricultural machinery and trailers, added another member to its four-member supervisory board. As the company reports in its press release, Uwe Schöneberg is to support the strategic direction and further development of the group. With the 61-year-old, five supervisory board members now represent various professional focuses under the chairmanship of Bernard Krone.
Driving Innovation
According to reports, Schöneberg is one of the leading experts in the German food industry and has professional experience in the areas of agriculture and food processing. At the same time, the trained master baker and qualified businessman is also responsible for strategic development as managing partner at the well-known Cologne-based sugar and food manufacturer Pfeifer &
Langen.
Bernard Krone highlights the extensive industry knowledge of the expert in food production, which, along with his knowledge in finance and the energy industry, will bring new momentum to the corporate group. From Schöneberg’s position on the supervisory board, they hope for "new, valuable impulses on how we can further drive the company’s innovative strength and thus ensure sustainable development of the Krone Group." Schöneberg himself comments:
“The development of the Krone family business from a smithy in Emsland to a global player over now four generations is enormously impressive. Therefore, it is a great honor for me to work with the other members of the supervisory board and the executive board to set the course for an unchanged successful future.”
Complex Management
In
addition to Bernard Krone and Uwe Schöneberg, the supervisory board also includes deputy chairman Alfons Veer, who leads the overall strategy and implementation of sustainable organizational structures as a financial expert. Dr. Tono Nasch joined the supervisory board in 2023 and is specialized as managing partner of an institute for vehicle drives in digitalization, automation, and electrification; and Bernd Meerpohl, an expert in animal husbandry technology, is responsible for technological and production-oriented further development. The executive level also includes graduate bank business economist Jürgen Hölscher, who supports the Krone Group with his expertise in the financial market and banking sector in "complex financial management."
In the 2023/2024 fiscal year, the Krone Group generated a turnover of around 2.4 billion euros – about 800 million euros
less compared to the previous year. Of this, approximately 835.6 million euros went to agricultural technology, and around 1.58 billion euros to the commercial vehicles sector, with a focus on semitrailers. In contrast to turnover, the number of employees in the Krone Group increased during the 2023/2024 fiscal year: from 5,855 to 6,217. The annual report states:
“Innovative strength, flexibility, strategic partnerships as well as AI, automation, and robotics ensured solid sales in a challenging environment.”
At the end of 2024, the Krone Commercial Vehicles division partnered with the economically pressured Austrian trailer manufacturer Schwarzmüller to form a strategic partnership and shortly thereafter strengthened the reorientation with a new CFO. According to the latest annual report, the group expects "a slight recovery of the economic
