Process technology – A field not just for men

Johanna Justl and Barbara Gruber have been an essential part of Krones for a long time now: both have belonged to the process technology team for over ten years. Besides their many years of service, the two women have something else in common: they studied food technology at the Technical University of Munich’s Weihenstephan campus in Freising and then worked in a variety of positions before ending up in order clarification for Processing Units at Krones. 

Johanna started off working in mixer process technology. Barbara started off as a project engineer for syrup rooms, a product area that has since been taken over by Milkron, a Krones subsidiary. She then moved to the overall process engineering department and has been in her current position since January. Today, Johanna and Barbara are both a part of one of those engineering departments which can boast a comparatively high proportion of women at around 25 percent. As product specialists for order clarification for the Processing Units department, their tasks include, for example, defining, describing and testing how the machinery functions. 

The road to process technology at Krones

But how is it that there are relatively a lot of women working in the field of process technology? A glance at the CVs of these two colleagues leads us to assume: the academic career they chose may have played a decisive role. Johanna and Barbara cite their personal preferences and interests as a possible explanation why many women choose to study food technology.

Johanna already loved mathematics at school and therefore initially considered pursuing a degree in mathematics. However, as she was looking for a more practical direction, she opted instead for engineering. As a student, she had already come into contact with Krones – through Steinecker, the Krones' daughter in Freising which is close to a campus belonging to the Technical University of Munich, so Krones is renowned as a major employer there. But the company was not an option for her for a long time: “I had always rather seen only the brewing aspect and thought: That's more for the brewers.” Later, however, she realised that “there is much more to it, the entire process technology, for example – not in Freising, but here in Neutraubling”. And so she decided to submit an application after all – with success, she has now been part of the Krones team since 2013. 

By comparison, her colleague Barbara comes from a technical family, as she explains: For me, it is a family matter: my siblings, my dad – they are all technicians and engineers.” She was already interested in MINT subjects (mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology) at school and was therefore only faced with the dilemma of which facet of this technical field appealed to her the most and which engineering course she would choose. She then came across Krones as her future employer during her degree course: “Krones had already helped shape our degree course. We were prepared for precisely those topics needed later in engineering – especially here at Krones,” she says.

Recruiting from the lecture hall

The fact that Krones also plays a recurrent role in university study courses is also partly due to colleagues who teach at universities in addition to their work at Krones. One of them is Dr. Roland Feilner, who heads the Processing Units division at Krones and is also a lecturer at the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences (HSWT). As a result, he is right at the heart of the matter, so to speak, when it comes to drawing students' attention to jobs and future fields of work at Krones. Such direct contact has already allowed him to win over the odd person or two for his specialist field of process technology. For him, the charm lies in the everyday nature of the work: “Food technology is something tangible. Everyone can relate to food and drink – a fact that may make a move to technology a little easier.” 

Krones had already helped shape our degree course. We were prepared for precisely those topics needed later in engineering – especially here at Krones. Barbara Gruber

Krones is also presented to the students in lectures through the use of fictitious examples from corporate practice: either directly in their course or at university fairs, where Krones often is present. In addition to the HSWT, contact is also being intensified with other universities, such as the Regensburg University of Applied Sciences and the Technical University of Applied Sciences in Amberg-Weiden, says Roland Feilner.

But let’s return to the question of the high percentage of women: In the case of the HSWT, the food technology and brewing courses generally have a high proportion of women of even up to 50 percent, Roland Feilner has observed. However, a decline can be seen in the later semesters, depending on the specialist areas selected, such as beverage technology, process engineering or mechanical engineering. Johanna adds another contributing factor, believing that women tend to go into quality assurance or laboratories at the beginning of their careers. As a consequence, fewer tend to opt for the technical plant and mechanical engineering sector, as Johanna and Barbara did. This makes it all the more encouraging for Krones that the proportion of women in the Processing Units division is still relatively high at around 25 percent – as Roland Feilner points out: “The set-up definitely has advantages that benefit everyone! We complement one another”.