At the height of the Industrial Revolution, the friends and business partners Carl Kappert and Louis Holstein set up the engineering factory Holstein & Kappert Maschinenfabrik "Phoenix" (H&K) in Dortmund.

The brothers Theobald Friedrich and Georg Heinrich Seitz set up Seitz-Werke, headquartered in Bad Kreuznach.

Dortmund is among the largest brewery cities. As a result of the heavy demand by breweries for modern cleaning and filling technology, H&K experiences its first heyday. It develops highly modern, semi-automatic bottle washing and filling machines.

The dynamic development of cities and the associated urbanization demand new sanitation concepts in all areas of daily life. The beverage industry also looks for new options for making its products safer. "Germ removal filtration" developed by Dr. Friedrich Schmitthenner is one such milestone which contributes to a significant increase in the quality of filled products.

Quality gets around. H&K takes on more and more orders from breweries around the world. The market grows.

A patent for a device for filling beer and other fluids under counter-pressure is registered by the professors Rosier and Laneau. This marks the birth of the three-chamber ROLA system which is named after its inventors.

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The Seitz brothers make this idea reality in Bad Kreuznach. After only a short time, the ROLA system from Seitz achieves its international reputation.

In a counter-move, H&K develops pre-evacuation with CO₂-preloading, which delivers the same technical values as the famous ROLA system. The pre-evacuation process works with a short tube, however, which results in fewer problems with the bottle material at that time. 

Foundation of Holstein & Kappert Inc. Waukesha, USA as the first international branch of H&K.

72% acquisition of a Brazilian mechanical engineering company, the future "KHS Indústria de Máquinas Ltda." in São Paulo. Expansion into an important hub for the South American market. Acquisition of remaining shares in 1999/2000.

The growing variety of products and the rising consumer culture proves to be positive for H&K. H&K's filling technology in particular reigns supreme.

H&K celebrates the completion of its 2,000^th filler.

Competition grows in the brewery industry. Foreign investors look for new opportunities on the German beer market. This demands that also mechanical engineering companies break new ground. Complete systems and service from one single source, as offered by H&K, are in demand. Klöckner Werke AG (KW) in Duisburg becomes aware of H&K and initially acquires 51% of its shares. This stake is increased to 100% in subsequent years.

SEN develops the ROLA-Tronic system which supports the filling process using computer controls. SEN's experience in the area of aseptic cold filling of juices results in a system without a bell-like chamber, known today as the vapor filling process (VF), which ensures microbiological safety during the filling process.

Merger of Seitz Werke GmbH in Bad Kreuznach and Noll Maschinenfabrik GmbH in Minden with Enzinger Union Werke AG into Seitz Enzinger Noll Maschinenbau AG (SEN), Mannheim, with headquarters in Bad Kreuznach.

KW takes a stake of 24% in SEN and increases this stake to more than 90% by 1988/89.

Merger decisions taken at the annual general meetings of H&K and SEN to form KHS Maschinen- und Anlagenbau AG (KHS).

The merger into "KHS" becomes effective after six years of litigation. The new company name combines the names of all three companies: Klöckner, Holstein and Seitz.

Joint venture with an Indian mechanical engineering company to form  "KHS Machinery Pvt. Ltd.".

Acquisition of the company Anker, Hamburg (labeling machines) rounds off KHS' product portfolio.

Acquisition of KW subsidiary Kisters Maschinenbau GmbH, Kleve - a specialist in the packaging sector.

KHS Metec GmbH with its core competence of inspection technology becomes part of KHS AG.

KHS acquires 70% of the shares in a Chinese company, GLM2 in Shantou, whose core competencies are in filling technology for the beer industry. The joint venture operates under the name "KHS China GLM2 Co. Ltd"

KHS India opens a new plant near Ahmedabad.