Syntegon paper-ON-form tech garners IVS Innovation Award

Syntegon marketing manager Michaela Schneider (left) and product manager Stephan Schuele (right) hand over the check to go tec! director Martin Sengel at the Neuhausen

• Schaffhausen banks recognize innovative Syntegon solution
• Paper-ON-form retrofit kit for packaging machines enables food manufacturers to transition from plastic to paper
• Syntegon donates CHF 10,000 prize money to Neuhausen-based go tec! lab, an initiative to get kids excited about technology and science
  

Beringen, Switzerland, July 13, 2023. On June 14, the paper-ON-form retrofit kit for packaging machines developed by Syntegon in Beringen took first place to win the IVS Innovation Award sponsored by Swiss banks. Syntegon’s technology enables food manufacturers to retrofit their machines to handle special paper in place of plastic, thereby making their packaging far more sustainable. The company donated the prize money, 10,000 Swiss francs, to Neuhausen-based go tec!, a lab intended to spark local kids’ interest in technology and science. “Our canton has long been known as an innovative and prosperous hub of business. It’s important to us that we do our part to keep it that way. This is why we invest in the region’s up-and-coming young
talent – and thereby also in potential employees for Syntegon,” says Stephan Schüle, head of product management at Syntegon.

Sustainable and simple
Most confectionery such as chocolate bars, cookies, and baked goods is sold in plastic film packaging. Plastic is flexible, does not tear easily, and protects products well, which makes it the most convenient and effective type of packaging for manufacturers. Materials researchers have come up with state-of-the-art papers made of up to 90 percent natural fibers. They are recyclable, protect sensitive contents just as well as plastic, and leave a much eco-friendlier footprint. However, legacy packaging machines have been unable to process paper – until now, that is. The paper-ON-form retrofit kit developed in Beringen solves this problem. Food makers can convert their Syntegon machines to easily transition from plastic to paper packaging. This combination of sustainability and utility also won over the Innovation Award jury.

An investment in the future
This was the eleventh time the jury had bestowed the IVS Innovation Award sponsored by Schaffhausen banks. First awarded in 2008, it recognizes the most promising innovations brought forth in the Schaffhausen economic region. With its end-to-end range of packaging solutions and services for confectionery and food manufacturers, Syntegon’s Beringen site is a mainstay of local industry. Faced with a growing shortage of skilled workers, well-trained young professionals in the (information) technology sector are more important than ever to the company, so it has good reason to donate the prize money to go tec!.

An initiative of the Schaffhausen Association of Industry and Commerce (IVS), the go tec! lab works with schools and manufacturing companies to pursue its mission of honing kids’ STEM skills. The team led by go tec! managing director Martin Sengel offers a wide range of courses and hands-on experiments to foster interest in tech careers, for example, by enabling kids to explore technology and experience how it works in everyday use cases. The initiative aims to set up a new range of IoT (internet of things) courses with the prize money donated by Syntegon. Martin Sengel says, “We are delighted that the Syntegon team is donating the prize money to go-tec!. It will enable us to further expand our range of courses and present a modern and innovative world of technology to children and young people. Technologies such as IoT will continue revolutionizing industry and are well-suited for providing a vivid introduction to – and a hands-on experience of – complex topics in the real world.”

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