Richmond 3

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the machine overhaul program?
We at Kerber developed an overhaul program for our machines. We take cigarette and filter machines and give them a second life. We take the machine apart down to the frame and build it back up while doing a full maintenance. We also take care of the electrical obsolescence in the machine during this overhaul. The design of these upgrades has been done by our R&D department and the software has been developed by our engineers. Under these conditions, customers receive back a machine they know and they are comfortable to work with. With the overhaul program, we extend the life cycle of the equipment under the highest quality standard.
Which role does sustainability have?
Equipment is recycled and not trashed. This is good for the customer, good for Kerber, and good for the planet. The machine comes in 20 plus years old, and with our overhaul maintenance program, the machine will last for another 20 plus years. Sustainability is important in Richmond. We have implemented solar panels on our roof to generate around 70% of our local energy needs. The missing requirement is supplemented by green energy.

Additional information

Building a solar powered future

Sustainable business activities are firmly anchored in our Group strategy: in March 2023, the Körber site in Richmond placed in service 2,300 solar panels and expects up to 70% of its electricity consumption to be green energy.

A lot of work has been done over the last few years on the 13,000 square meter roof of Körber in Richmond, Virginia. Thanks to the photovoltaic system the site in Richmond is able to generate more than one million kilowatt hours per year with sustainable electricity. Additional Körber sites will follow.

Hello, my name is MAX!

Since our founding, Körber has been developing innovative solutions and cutting-edge technologies. This applies in particular to the MAX filter assembler, which was delivered from 1956 onwards. Its name originates from the former Head of Research & Development, Max Pollmann. Unlike its predecessor, the KFZ (Körber's Filter Cigarette Machine), the MAX operates from right to left, allowing for even better adaptation to international customer needs. The machine became a true bestseller. As early as 1960, the two-thousandth MAX had already been delivered.

Old becomes new

We have developed an overhaul program for our machines. We take cigarette or filter machines and give them a second life. We take care of obsolescence but also do a full maintenance on the equipment. With the overhaul program, we extend the lifecycle of the equipment with the highest quality standard.

Our People

In Richmond, we look for people with different work experiences, education, and diversity. Many of our mechanical and electrical technicians completed apprenticeships in their respective fields before joining the company. We currently have an on-the-job training program for positions in our assembly. Additionally, we continue to support employees' educational aspirations through our tuition reimbursement program.

We bring parts together

We use a huge amount of parts for our machine assembly. Our complete cigarrette producing machine, Protos, has over 9,000 different parts. In addition we provide spare parts to all of our customers as well as our asset protection program. These parts are stored in a state of the art storage system for easy and immediate access.

If you want to learn more about our machine Protos visit our site in the Hamburg district of Bergedorf (Germany): Link

Repairs

Our repair department consists of twelve employees who complete over 2,500 repairs per year. These repairs range from glue pumps to complete overhauls of sub-assemblies for all our production machinery. Additionally, we support multiple repair programs for our customers to optimize their uptime and costs.