Motan Innovation Awards winner announced
The Motan Colortronic Innovation Award was handed in great ceremony to this year’s winner at a glittering event at the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen on the occasion of Fakuma 2018.
The shortlist for the Innovation Award included affiliates and employees of Motan Colortronic across the generations: Stefan Endres (Adaptive central vacuum control; Objective: More efficient plant utilisation and higher production security), Peter Haupt (Regulated transport of bulk goods; Objective: To measure speed and optimise promotion processes), Reinhard Herro (GAK system [gravimetric suction box]; Objective: Automation, control and monitoring of suction conveyor systems), Philipp Mählmeyer (system control on a mobile device; Objective: Query status information specifically via QR codes), Bernd Michael (System METRO-Lay; Objective: Efficient creation of routes for material and vacuum lines), and Karl Wolfgang (Repeater; Objective: Material-protection conveying in the vacuum area).
Digitalisation, industry 4.0, the Circular Economy and the skills gap were prevailing themes at Fakuma 2018 and the inspiration behind choosing this year’s winner had to be mindful of all of these trends affecting plastics now and for a long time yet to come.
In the preamble before the awards event, Sandra Füllsack, Managing Director, said: “Innovation is very important to us. We are here to look at industry today. Plastics has not got a good reception. Circular economy, digitalisation and industry 4.0 is our reality and these things actually make the word plastics acceptable. And making this happen is not simple. These awards go towards building that bridge to make us more efficient. Materials handling is our area but for Motan Colortronic, we work in materials management.”
“We must look at the full production of the customer and how we can help today in a networked world. We have to have the knowhow. The innovation award uses opportunity to find ideas and to understand these ideas.”
Reinhard Herro was presented with the gold prize due to the GAK gravimetric suction box’s ability to open up completely new possibilities for the control and monitoring of suction conveyor systems thanks to automation technology, taking home the €10,000 prize.
Bernd Michael’s METRO-Lay and Philipp Mählmayer’s app system won bronze and silver, taking home €4,000 and €6,000 respectively.
Füllsack stated those shortlisted but did not take home a prize, should know that their ideas have immense value to Motan and the wider industry and they will still be used by Motan Colortronic.