Event Planning Photos  »  Krones 2017 EAE

Over three days, one rather non-descript blacktop parking lot was utterly transformed, as an event venue literally rose from its sunbaked ground. The event was the annual Employee Appreciation Event for Krones, a German-based manufacturer of filling and packaging technology which has been in business for over 50 years. Underwood Events was asked, for the third straight year, to create a compelling event that would confirm, without a doubt, where the company was headed…which incidentally, was a nearby vacant field. Sorry – we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves.

Krones Inc. is expanding into an adjacent farm field, by investing in a state of the art training and technology center, and it wanted to make the formal announcement at its annual employee meeting, held right next to the selected site. UE conceptualized the event and design elements, designed the venue and facilitated construction and logistics, while sourcing and managing the vendors and the day’s agenda.

This big-top wonder required the raising of one ginormous tent, four 25-ton air conditioning units, dozens of tables, hundreds of chairs, an elaborate stage set draped in Krones’ corporate blue, high-tech sound and lighting, and of course, a delectable menu and entertainment.

The theme was appropriately, Thank You for Growing with Us, and that statement was nurtured through a landscape of lush greenery that filled the stage and the space, many dramatically lit in neon green. Just as plants require strong roots to grow, so, too, has Krones, building its success in the roots of a rich German heritage.

UE showcased that by duplicating the atmosphere found at Oktoberfest, with blue-and-white checkered tablecloths on long, rustic farm-style tables that sat amid a sea of round tables. In the cool, refreshing interior of the tent, a delicious barbeque meal was served to employees as they basked in each other’s accomplishments and their roles in the corporation’s promising future. The ComedySportz improv team had employees in stitches with its unpredictable, spontaneous brand of humor before the meeting wrapped up.

The 2017 Krones event was 180-degrees different from the company’s 50th anniversary celebration the year before, so it gave UE the opportunity to showcase its unlimited creativity in delivering wholly unique experiences that still remain true to a company’s branding and mission.