The KHS Group is writing a further chapter in its success story at its plant in Hamburg: the manufacturer of filling and packaging systems is investing over eleven million euros in a new hall for its barrier technology product center. In the future, all Plasmax coating technology departments will be housed under one roof. The building covering around 4,300 square meters is to be constructed on new factory premises on Hellmesbergerweg and is due to start operation in spring 2027. With this new production shop, KHS will be optimizing its processes and creating space for further growth.
“Our barrier technology is a key growth driver for the corporate success of the entire KHS Group. The demand for our machines in the InnoPET FreshSafe series has quadrupled over the past five years,” said Kai Acker, CEO of KHS GmbH, at the official ground-breaking ceremony for the new production shop on May 22, 2026. All KHS employees at the Hamburg site were invited to witness the start of the project. “The construction of our new hall and expansion of our factory premises secure jobs in the long term and are a clear sign of commitment to our production locations in Germany,” Acker added.
Unique first-class KHS technology
The factory in Hamburg pools the resources of the PET technology competence center within the KHS Group. A pioneer in PET bottle production, trailblazing systems and solutions that have shaped the beverage and packaging industry worldwide have been engineered here for over 50 years. These include high-performance stretch blow molders in the InnoPET Blomax series, InnoPET BloFill fillers and coating machines featuring Plasmax technology that’s absolutely unique on the market. KHS’ InnoPET FreshSafe blocks coat PET bottles with a wafer-thin, transparent layer of glass in the Plasmax process. This reliably protects sensitive beverages against oxidation and loss of carbon dioxide. It therefore preserves taste, color and quality for long periods of time and lengthens the product’s shelf life.
The two product centers for stretch blow molding and barrier technology manage all key processes from development through assembly and installation to sale and commissioning. To date they shared three production shops. Strong growth in the barrier technology segment in particular means that these units have now reached the limits of their capacity. “To make our processes more efficient and increase production, we’re going to combine all relevant departments in a new hall,” explains Dr. Joachim Konrad, head of the Large Machine Product Division at KHS.
