Krones AG has been honoured as the overall winner of the Microsoft Intelligent Manufacturing Award (MIMA) 2026, one of the most prestigious distinctions in the field of digital industrial innovation. The award is presented annually by Microsoft and the consulting firm Roland Berger to companies that set the direction for the development of the industrial value chain through digital solutions and new technologies. The recognition for Krones confirms the growing importance of advanced analytics, simulation and artificial intelligence in optimising processes in the beverage production industry and, more broadly, in the packaging sector, in particular in automated filling and packaging lines.
New generation of digital twins
Krones was recognised for developing a new generation of agentic digital twins. These are digital models that not only reflect real production processes, but are also able to autonomously optimise them using artificial intelligence algorithms. The solution was first tested and validated in a test environment, and the next step is to transform it into a scalable application for industrial use.
The Agentic Digital Twins developed by Krones are based on close integration of process simulations with real production data. This makes it possible to continuously compare different line operating scenarios, detect bottlenecks and search for configurations that improve stability, efficiency and resource utilisation in production plants, including in the beverage sector.
Physical simulation and artificial intelligence in real time
The technology behind the project combines highly accurate real-time physical simulations with data analysis and decision-making supported by artificial intelligence. As a result, production scenarios can be evaluated within minutes, whereas previously similar simulations required several hours of computation.
The integrated artificial intelligence module automatically tests different process parameter settings, continuously learns from the results and transfers the optimal configurations directly to real production systems. This increases efficiency, stability and resource savings, which is particularly important for the beverage and packaging industries, which operate in highly competitive markets and seek to reduce consumption of energy, process media and materials.
This type of solution fits into the broader trend of using digital twins for planning, optimising and monitoring the operation of complex production lines, including filling and packaging lines for beverages in plastic bottles and other packaging formats. The shorter calculation time increases the possibilities for variant analyses and ongoing adaptation of machine settings to changing production conditions.
Digitalisation, artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering
The importance of the award for the company's digitalisation strategy is underlined by Markus Tischer, member of the Executive Board at Krones responsible for digitalisation. He stated that "the award demonstrates the potential that lies in combining digitalisation and artificial intelligence and shows that, together with our mechanical engineering expertise, we are creating innovations that set international benchmarks".
The award-winning project is an example of how manufacturers of machinery and systems for the food and packaging industries can develop data-based plant services and software solutions. Digital twins with autonomous optimisation functions support users of production lines in making decisions on operation, maintenance and modernisation of their machine parks.
Technological cooperation within the project
The project that received the Microsoft Intelligent Manufacturing Award 2026 was developed in close cooperation with technology partners. These include Ansys, part of the Synopsys group, CADFEM, as well as Microsoft, NVIDIA and SoftServe. Together they developed a fully integrated solution that combines simulation, artificial intelligence and cloud technology in a single tool designed for future production systems.
The importance of this type of cooperation lies in combining competences in simulation software, computing infrastructure, cloud platforms and applications using artificial intelligence. As a result, it is possible to create an environment in which data from production lines are processed and analysed almost in real time, and the conclusions can be quickly implemented in practice at end users' plants.
The Krones project is part of broader trends in the digital transformation of industry, involving the integration of simulation, machine learning and cloud computing in a single tool ecosystem. From the perspective of process engineering and operation of beverage production and packaging lines, this means the possibility of more accurate investment planning, shorter commissioning times and better adjustment of machine operating parameters to the specific requirements of products and packaging.
