AI and Data Science in Composites and Plastics production enter the scene: big time
Table of Contents
sensXPERT - Optimizing Plastics Manufacturing : What happens in the mold is invisible - let AI make us of quality markers to make it visible
voidsy gmbh : a novel system for non-destructive materials and component testing in numerous industries with up to 80% faster and more cost-effectively than standard inspection methods
Antefil Composite Tech : Microengineered hybrid fibres for lightweight structures
M2N Media GmbH Converting Gipfel 2024: a German-language high-calibre event for the key player of the coating and web processing industry
Upcoming Enduser Panel powered by JEC Group : ILA Berlin - Pioneering Aerospace
Upcoming JEC FORUM SEA in Bangkok and DACH in Stuttgart
Other Composites Events across Europe, where Composites Lounge will be attending
Transcriptions of all full Interviews featured in this newsletter
What happens in the mold is invisible - let AI make use of quality markers to make it visible
Let's start with our latest member of Composites Lounge : we have met sensXPERT - Optimizing Plastics Manufacturing last week after being at HANNOVER MESSE attending the 5th lightweighting summit of the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz and Techtextil , where we announced the M2N Media GmbH Converting Gipfel.
May be some of you remember the Lufthansa Bodenpersonal strikes on the last days of JEC World 2024, so the editor Ilkay ?zkisaoglu and his team had to reschedule their flight back to Munich on 8 April 2024.
Luckily, a lot of the Bavarian Composites world was in the only plane that left Charles de Gaulle on March 8th and that's when at the Finger Cornelia Beyer and Dr. Alexander Chaloupka took this welcome back picture
At the baggage belt then we dove deeper into the plastics of the baggage and we really wondered, how it could be possible that otherwise very robust plastics can break? This is where my idea evolved to dive deeper.
Now accidentally sensXPERT - Optimizing Plastics Manufacturing is using AI to detect deviation in the curing processes. And they do this in-mold.
So it happened that I visited them for two days and made a very deep coverage of their innovative approach.
Thank you Cornelia for the birthday cheesecake!
In this LinkedIn Livestream Cornelia Beyer gives an introduction and background on this company venture of the NETZSCH Group
If you want to watch the fully captioned version in 4k hop over to our Youtube podcast and watch it here.
You can listen to Part I now also on our Composites Lounge Podcast on Spotify right here in the LinkedIn Newsletter
If you prefer reading the transcript you find it at the end of the LinkedIn Newsletter Episode 12: Link.
More episodes will follow where we will cover the technical side with Dr. Alexander Chaloupka , Dr. Phil Gralla , Arne Büttner and I meet Nicholas Ecke at IFAT worldwide in Munich on 13 May 2024
At the IFAT worldwide trade show for environmental technologies we will touch base with the plastics recycling industry and will have a chat about:
?? Recent trends in polymer materials
?? Material and process deviations in plastics manufacturing
?? The challenges that come with increased recyclate contents
?? How sensXPERT - Optimizing Plastics Manufacturing and their digital mold solution can bring transparency to complex processes
More background on IFAT here in Ilkay's recent post, where he also announces to interview René Mühlmeier of Mühlmeier GmbH, B?rnau, Germany on CIPP solutions.
Stay tuned on these videos and podcasts in the upcoming weeks.
sensXpert exhibited at NPE in Orlando (booth S38182). Here is what they displayed (quote from their LinkedIn invite):
voidsy : a novel system for non-destructive materials and component testing in numerous industries with up to 80% faster and more cost-effectively than standard inspection methods
?? At JEC World 2024 in Paris, Composites Lounge interviewed Holger Plasser of voidsy gmbh from Austria and made a full coverage during their #composites360Ontour.
This conversation was not only a professional highlight, but also an opportunity to delve deeper into the world of photothermal tomography with the voidsy product 3D V-ROX. ??
This system provides non-contact, rapid, large-area and non-destructive testing ??? of materials and components, providing a revolutionary, cost-effective solution for our customers.
The opportunity to discuss their technology and its impact on the industry ?? was inspiring and it was impressive to see how excited Ilkay ?zkisaoglu was about the possibilities that the 3D V-ROX system can offer. ??
Watch our interview on LinkedIn fully captioned here:
or if you prefer the Youtube podcast experience
and of course on Spotify
The partnership with ENGEL Austria is focused on demonstrating the quality assurance of their 3D V-ROX system in the manufacturing cell of ENGEL and you will soon enjoy some behind-the-scenes from the show floor and a full interview with Matthias Mayr , too.
Antefil: Microengineered hybrid fibres for lightweight structures
We continue detecting mindblowing innovation. Today: Fibrecoating Swiss Made! We welcome our latest member to Composites Lounge , a group here on LinkedIn with the elite manufactureres, associations, media and ministries that support lightweight and other sustainable technologies with the most innovative minds.Let me introduce you today to Christoph Schneeberger and his great team, whom I met during our #Composites360OnTour Vlogging at the recent JEC World 2024 (JEC Group ). This spin-off from ETH Zürich had an idea that has in our view the potential of being a true disruptor.
Rather than coating textile UD- or woven fabrics, NCFs and the like only, they coat single fibres. The main benefit is safer and more homogeneous coating along the endless single glass-fibres.Particularly, thermoplastics can be a bit of a challenge in conventional applications. There is now the Antefil Composite Tech solution.
Join us on a journey with Antefil Composite Tech an ETH Zürich spin-off as we explore the future of composites at JEC World 2024 (JEC Group ) in Zurich. Discover how Antefil is pioneering unprecedented advancements with their hybrid fibers coated with thermoplastic matrix, enhancing structural integrity and high-quality results.
Hop over to our Youtube Podcast channel
or listen to our full interview on Spotify:
On a final note, please help Antefil to obtain a Swiss Award here:
As every year, Venturelab is organizing the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Awards and there is a public voting award as well!Since you're already on LinkedIn, voting for your favorite composites startup is as easy as 1-2-3:1) ?? Visit startup.ch/Antefil2 ) ?? Click the gold "VOTE NOW" button3) ? Register your vote by logging into your LinkedIn accountThank you for your support to help Antefil win the TOP 100 Swiss Startup Public Vote 2024! #TOP100SSU
Read more here in Antefils recent document share:
M2N Converting Gipfel 2024: a German-language high-calibre event for the key player of the coating and web processing industry
We met Nina Pirchmoser and her Business partner Martin Hirschmann at Techtextil , because we have a common interest on textile substrates. Whereas M2N is into the converting of roll good materials like cutting, coating,
& slitting.
Whereas our interest the reinforcement side of fibreglass and other textiles as Composites Lounge.
Watch our 9:16 trailer now on LinkedIn
We kicked off by covering TechTextil with Martin. Watch our popular video here:
And in order to learn all about the M2N Media GmbH Gipfel hop over to the fully captioned Youtube podcast with Nina
or listen to it on Spotify right here:
Ilkay will be holding a Panel on batteries. Panel guests include
Get your early bird ticket now here:
and enjoy the surrounding and networking opportunities at the EAST hotel in Hamburg:
Composites Lounge is preparing currently for the battery enduser panel at ILA Berlin: 6 June 2024
This panel is powered by JEC Group who also will organize the next forums in Bangkok:
and in Stuttgart, where you will meet all DACH key players, of which some are featured in this episode:
watch out for more announcements on these and other events:
M2N Media GmbH M2N Converting Gipfel 2024, Hamburg (Germany????)
International Composites Summit 2024 Milton Keynes (United Kingdom ????)
InnoTrans 2024, Berlin (Germany ????)
MEET4COMPOSITE | International Composite Show 2024 Istanbul (Türkiye ???? )
KOMPOZYT-EXPO? 2024 Krakow (Poland ???? )
Semicon Europa 2024 Munich (Germany ????)
Then reach out to me via LinkedIn or contact me through email ([email protected] ), if you have news on innovative lightweight technologies that drive sustainability. Composites Lounge would feature your news during #Composits360ontour , since we will be on all these events there personally, too.
Also Composites Lounge organizes now panel discussions at enduser events in collaboration with JEC Group and invite you to take your seat in one of the panels.
We are building our new presence in the web: www.compositeslounge.com and you will learn more about it soon.
This will give you, your firm and your solutions visibility of an exorbitant scale and fantastic networking opportunities!
Book your slot for a free call with Ilkay ?zkisaoglu here: www.dersocialceo.com/bookings
Composites Lounge Channels and Collaboration tools
You can watch all our Composites Lounge podcasts also as videos here on our Youtube p laylist typically with higher resolution and fully capitoned:
Subscribe to the Composites Lounge Newsletter
Get to know the latest trends, technologies and innovationes in composites aka fibre reinforced polymers. Subscribe
Want to partner, work or sponsor an event with Composites Lounge?
Contact Ilkay ?zkisaoglu here: www.dersocialceo.com/bookings
Last, but not least, interested in LinkedIn Thought Leadership?
Subscribe to my German written monthly LinkedIn Thought Leadership Newsletter here. Click the picture to read the latest edition No. 23
Best regards,
(Editor)
Transcriptions of all full Interviews featured in this newsletter episode #12
Interview with Cornelia Beyer of sensXPERT - Optimizing Plastics Manufacturing 28 April in Munich, Germany
Title: Cornelia Beyer of SensXPERT CEO View on a deep tech Co part II
00:00:07 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So, dear community, welcome to sensXPERT. We are here at a deep tech company in the middle of Munich, the Munich Center, and I have the honor to have the CEO, Cornelia Bayer, with me, whom I met already so many times lately at JEC in Paris, where they had also their, yeah, exhibition booth. And it was now time to really deep dive in their solution in their system. While I will be talking to Arne Büttner and Alexander Chaloupka, we will talk there more on the technical side. We will have a big picture with with Cornelia about how this business is running. So as a starter, Cornelia, maybe you can introduce yourself to our community. How did you come from such an exciting background into a composites and plastics industry?
00:00:59 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Hi. First of all, nice meeting you all. From the distance to the camera lens. I am very happy to be here with a Ilkay today. Let me give you a short summary of who I am. And how did I come to the plastics composite industry? Um, yeah. I took quite a rollercoaster in my life. 20, 25 years of being in business. So the story book is nicely filled. What is my background? Where do I came from or where do I come from? It's mainly business development and sales. This is how I started. I lived in many, many places throughout Europe, Amsterdam, in London. And I moved to New York and San Francisco and Toronto, and I could develop and build up businesses. So business growth, innovation into entrepreneurship is my passion. And the industries that I've seen over the many years that I am in my working life is from hospitality over to finance. I was in a renewable sector and then I was a founder myself. And this is when the startup in the venture world started to get interesting for me. I was a founder in a building material startup, so I learned a lot over the course of the last 13 years being in the startup world. And how did I come to the plastics industry? I would say it's like Virgin Mary to the child. But no, joke aside, back in 2019 and 2020, I did my executive MBA in Paris and I was thinking, okay, what is next? I'm a person that likes challenges. I need to learn new things. But on the other side, I would like to give what I've learned and my expertise. And then second is I was very interested in what is the German roots. There are family businesses all around. So I said, okay, combining my venture and startup experience and a family oriented business. So this is how I found NETZSCH or how NETZSCH found me and I have the honor to be on board since now, August 2021 and support Alexander as my partner in crime - so to say - as the managing director being responsible for the sales and business development and the growth of the company as a running CEO currently.
00:03:21 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Very exciting and very impressive CV that you have, Cornelia. And also, congratulations for your power and your passion that you are bringing into this business. And you are certainly one of the key figures in this industry. And of course, if I may say that it makes always a great inspiration also for other female leaders.
00:03:42 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: For sure. And I think I would like to highlight this point, because I think it's not automatically or normal. Let's say it's not normal today that you find someone in a traditional company like ours where the shareholders or owners take on and trust the females, even though we say, okay, diversity and gender. And this is not a biggie anymore. So with Paul and Moritz deciding to give a female the opportunity to be a founder of one of their first startups, I think I'm very honored.
00:04:17 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Yes, that's very good and NETZSCH keep going. This is really great. We support you guys. Let me come now back to the special situation you have as a company, Cornelia. As you probably know, I'm also a coach in the innovation scene with the European Commission, with the European Innovation Council, to be more precise. And I have to deal a lot with innovation-driven companies. Now, innovation driven companies come in different shapes and forms. This can be an innovation that is carried out from the entity itself. It can be a startup company that has an innovation in its mind and is transferring it into an innovation and gets funded and supported by the European Commission, for example. Now NETZSCH is a very old traditional standing company. I've made my way to your website, and I've scrolled the history down and back and back and nearly it had not found an end. It's such a long history. Have a look at it. And now you are, can we say a startup? A venture startup, corporate venture. And how is it, if I may ask, from a cultural point of view? So you are innovation driven and you have to push technology further. And on the other side, there is a company that is long standing, from the area where I live, from Upper Franconia, which of course we all know. They have their milling and inspection business units. And now you are coming with a business unit that has AI, that has deep tech in his genes. How does this match or fit?
00:06:06 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: This is actually very impressive. And it was very important personally when I took the decision to join the company. It's a mindset question. And the company or the history of the NETZSCH Group itself, it's 150 year old traditional business. And when you mentioned and refer to the business units that they have. We have those three main business units. It's the Analyzing and Testing. It's the Grinding and Dispersing business and the Pumps and NETZSCH is a hidden champion. So, but how does a traditional company and now this new world of AI digitalization fits into the game of and what we are doing at sensXPERT? And the answer is very, very easy. We have and the company is run by the fifth generation of Paul and Moritz Netzsch. And I think they made an impression on me. And I said the mindset that they have and where they want to go forward is transforming the company. They know that they will not leave their kids a a machinery company, so they know they have to evolve and develop and excel on the digital opportunities that are out there. So I think the the start was by introducing the NEDGEX incubator. So it's an intrapreneurship-focused incubator from the NETZSCH business, and they supported us creating sensXPERT and legally spin off the company. So we were part of our sister company, the NETZSCH Analyzing and Testing, which are widely globally known as a laboratory machinery company. So the technology that is behind sensXPERT is basically a transition. We have a core technology with the Analyzing & Testing business, which is over 50 years old, and our running CTO, Dr. Alexander Chaloupka, who was one of the, let's say, inventors of transitioning this core technology based on the demands he daily faced with the NETZSCH Analyzing and Testing clients. So how do we fit culturally? We have freedom. We can be agile. Shareholder value is important, but the NETZSCH brothers, know that they have to take a step back, invest heavily to make something like us develop and explore and venture out. And this is the freedom that I found, and that's why I'm here.
领英推荐
00:08:27 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Cornelia, you've talked a lot about that you are loving challenges and let's talk projects. What is a very challenging project that comes up to your mind?
00:08:39 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: I wouldn't refer to a certain project, but what certainly is a big, big challenge or was a big challenge. Now we are seeing a drift and change, because we have been around for two and a half years now. Based on my experience as being a startup founder myself, when I started first back in 2013 with my first startup, we had the same issue like now, and that's why I think I could contribute some of my expertise and experience here. We are a first mover. We introduced the technology with sensXPERT that yes, has its roots way back in material science and blah blah blah and laboratory equipment. But it's so much more. And so the biggest challenge for us was to educate. And I quote a client and that we have seen: "Oh, I don't know that something like this exists". This is the biggest challenge, I would say, if you have a technology on hand that nobody knows exists, then when we look at our industry in-mold sensor technology, which is one part of the story of our technology, right. Everyone knows, pressure and temperature sensors, this is what you do. But no, this is not what we do. We measure in-mold material characterization. We see deviations when they occur. So how do you educate someone that doesn't know that something exists? So brand awareness, educational knowledge transfer. We had to start from scratch and then you could ask, okay, but why are you blue and why are you sensXPERT? Why don't you go out with green and the NETZSCH reputation of the company is 150 years old. We want to change. We are in transition course with NETZSCH where we introduce also the digital transformation. So we made the decision. We are not leaving our roots. We are still NETZSCH and this is important for the customers to know, because startup and ventures it's always like will they survive? Are they finance-backed etc., etc.. So, yes, it's a challenge. And then you asked for a project. We are in different industries, as you know, so aviation is one of them. And aviation, it's very, very hard to get into that industry.
00:10:42 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: The certification testing.
00:10:44 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: And validation, I would use it as a.
00:10:46 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Long cycle, long sales cycle.
00:10:48 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Exactly. So we can proudly say we accomplished that. We have a client. I can't name yet, because we are still in the process, but we managed to be without being certified, just proving what we can achieve. We are now in a serial production with them. This is a milestone. So, of course, now we are seeing other aviation & aerospace companies reach out to us. So this was very challenging to convince a company based on truth, numbers and results. And we are so proud of that.
00:11:19 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So just to explain the community, what you're saying is very important with the aerospace industry. Of course, there are airworthiness regulations available now. Your parts are probably not part of a plane, but they are in the process manufacturing a plane, right?
00:11:37 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Our technology sits in the processes. So we support the part manufacturing by overseeing how the material behaves in-mold, how the interaction between third party equipment or the machine itself happens. So and we can see deviations occur, but we not only seeing deviations occur, we can also optimize and increase the efficiency and productivity. And with the client and you know the industry aviation, they are one big factor. First we had Covid. Now we have contract fulfillment. The order books are full, crazy, full. So they struggle with contract fulfillment. And now that we reduced massively by around 30% the cycle times, we could help the client a lot. So yes, we need to prove that they are still producing quality parts. I'm just saying Boeing and all everything that is going on. So yes, everything is qualified and ensured that the parts have the highest quality. But still we could reduce the cycle times and with that increasing productivity like crazy.
00:12:39 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Just to give us an idea, how is such a project managed? We don't need to go into the detail of this aerospace company. Just take any company in general. How do you manage these processes, these projects? They come in. Do you have a sales department? Do we have consultants in-house? I understand you have already over 30 people working with your company. How can the customer imagine working with you?
00:13:07 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: First of all, we are part of a group of companies. So we're still very close with our sister company who manufacturers our hardware and maybe we can go later to that. What is the product about like hardware and what is the digital part. And so this is taken care of all certified and everything. And we rely on this 50 year history of our sister company. But in-house what do we do? We have the strong arm or the strong arm of product development and the R&D. The team itself who take over the technical part. So when a customer, let's say potential customer is interested in the journey that we take on, of course, we have a sales department who reaches out, explains the product, digital demos, or we go on site to look at the factory, how the machine is set up. And then we have the Application & Service department. So they look at geometry of the tools. Where is the best position for the sensors? Some clients, because have serial production. You don't stop just because sensXPERT is there. So how can we prove and build up a reputation that the client trusts us, that this works actually before they interfere with their running processes? So the Application & Service department that we have here are very skilled people from the industry, who make pre-testing. So we get the material from the clients, we build up kinetic models, we show them what we already see. What is the potential, of course, we can reference to clients that we have similar running processes. So this is what we show. We have a lot of data in hand. I mean, not because of only our sister company, but is in the market but also of our own customers. So we are not, of course, showing customer data. It's process data. It's like our own measurements. So and then once this is agreed on we go actually and install. It's a plug and play easy thing to do. We have our data science team who takes then the next steps. So we compare the kinetic the simulation, what we expect to see and what they think is happening when they start their processes. And then we actually install the sensors. That goes very quick. Switch on. That's it. Then we have the cloud connectivity and then we compare. They run the process. They start to produce and manufacture the first part. And then we compare the real data, the real processing and what happens with the simulation with the kinetic models. Based on this the machine learning models will be built up and then we see and create the most efficient process for the client. This takes approximately 3 to 4 weeks. It's not that we need like other AI companies. Or data data data. No, it needs maybe 50 parts. And then we are good to go. So we have a strong data science team. And I think this is the big plus when you look at what is out there: software providers, consultancies, other let's say service providers who are offering technology. We have here people that are from the industry, they know materials, but they know AI. So the combination of this skill sets, and took us a long time until the 35 people were found, now currently 35. We are still growing. Internationalisation becomes evident at the moment with North America. The people that we have are amazing. I can very proudly say it's not one person that runs a company. So being here, I'm honored to work with this talent.
00:16:23 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Project management is an important part of your business. Let me dive a bit deeper into data science. My first question, because I don't know how important is data science today at our composites industry? Do they take it serious? If they don't take it serious, what would be your recommendation?
00:16:43 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: I think we can't do without anymore. Data is just not used. There's so much untapped potential. But we are human beings. We can't process all this data that is on hand. So I give you an example. And digitalization is nothing new. Industry 4.0. I don't know for how many years already. So we see machine manufacturers offering data, digital solutions like cloud here, cloud there. Then we have sensor hardware companies offering their clouds. So now you have the client in the middle who gets data from this machine, from peripheral equipment and from other sensors, etc., etc. and then they are left alone. So why do we need data science? Someone needs to evaluate the data and turn it into return investments. And this is why we are strong at. So yes, we have our own sensors. Yes, we have our own measurement equipment to analyze and evaluate data. But the blue box that you know, from our we call it edge device it's basically a single source of truth, because we connect us with all data sources and can holistically display and create value added for the clients. So data science is necessary to take this hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of data points and to turn them into something what the clients can use.
00:18:02 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So today, they are not using it to its fullest potential, because what? People are lazy or because they are not capable of transforming this data?
00:18:12 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: I give you an example. We have a client we can name, a tier one in the automotive industry. It's ZF Friedrichshafen. He has or they have a huge team of data scientists. And they had a process, and their goal was to create the most efficient process. And they have 42, I think it was don't take me serious on the 42, it was 35 or whatever, but a lot of amount of criterias, that were influencing the process. So process parameters are 42 different indicators. So they asked the team to do this or create this most efficient process based on the data. They failed. So that was our journey. So we started with them and we showed them in a very, very short amount of time with one person of our data science team how to create the most efficient process. And this is what we did.
00:19:00 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Congratulations on that one. So community we make a hard cut and we are changing the topic. I've seen that you have been called into a panel during JEC World. What was the panel about? Why did they call you on the panel and what was your feeling about the topic?
00:19:17 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: I would like to refer to what was evident at JEC World 2024 this year. And there were two points. Yes, so one was hydrogen market. So the growth in the hydrogen market. But the other was also the topic around sustainability & digitalization. Absolutely. So huge challenge what is coming our way. When you look at the dominating factors in the industry, what we are facing, lack of skilled workers, cost pressure, sustainability, and what else was the topic around contract fulfillment. So industry 4.0, I think this was, I can say high level what this panel was about. And seeing the change in materials taking center stage, of course, dominated by sustainability and being more sustainable. So novel techs need to be there and will make the difference. So to analyze and to see how data can be transferred and converted into something else, you need those kind of tools. So I think that was the reason why we got invited. I took the stand, because I like to talk.
00:20:21 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Okay.
00:20:22 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: So honestly, it's like I think it was more educating, enlightening the industry that there is technology out there that can see deviations when they occur in-mold, which until now was not there, and the sustainability and the recycling materials. And we have the big topic about the EU Green Law Deal. So yes, the demand we need to do something but nobody helps you in how can I do it. So the challenges that people face in manufacturing because of the uncertainties this is why I think the panel was there to introduce not just us, but different kind of players. What can be done? What technologies are out there from robotics to AI to software. Was a very interesting panel.
00:21:04 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Okay. So you contributed to this topic.
00:21:07 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Of the materials deviations and what kind of technologies out there to actually see those deviations and measure them and turn them into something valuable.
00:21:15 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: How was it received? Did you get a lot of questions from the audience? Was it interactive?
00:21:20 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: I think it was more absorbing. So people are always shy at these panels. Nobody is like: "Oh, I have a question". I think it was well perceived. The feedback that we got through social media and people that connected afterwards was good.
00:21:35 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Good, well received. JEC World 2024, of course, is our pilgrimage. We go there every year. Yes. And you've been there. What other highlights have you planned for 2024 and maybe beyond? Where could people, if they listen to this, see you, watch you and talk to you on events?
00:21:55 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: The last two years we really identified what are the the most important fairs. Where do you need to be? Where do you meet the people that you want to meet? Of course, JEC World from the composites side. But then we also go and see the CAMX in September 2024. And I think this year's San Diego the beginning of September 2024. Okay. So we are going to be there then I'm flying out next week in preparation for the NPE 2024, the largest plastic show in in Orlando. Then the traditional ones, we have Fakuma, the K show. I think next year coming up again, this is always the highlight. Okay. But we also explored other events like in Mexico, the Plastimagen where I have been last year. So we are looking at different kinds. But I think the fairs that are very interesting for us and we will explore them this year, next year, product related exhibitions where, for example, aerospace in Seattle was in the beginning of the year, the PNAA. So where you see actually products displayed suppliers, tier ones or OEM showcase their products and here we can make an impact. We can talk to them, we can exchange with them not just because we want to sell, of course, our technology. No. But also to understand better the needs, the market needs. What is the features that we have to develop in the future? To really be in exchange with the customers.
00:23:17 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: I hear a bit from your explanations, a bias towards Europe and United States, or North America when you go to Canada next week. You mentioned Mexico, United States. Why is that?
00:23:31 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: You could say we are a German company, so explore Europe is big enough. I mean, I wouldn't say Europe is behind. The interest is there. Everyone we talk to, the interest is there. What we see, it still is a challenge. And this is not so much in North American market, is it the topic around cloud technologies. I have to store my data. And this is something where we see, okay, it needs longer time to develop and convince people, educate them that we are not taking any, let's say, recipes. So there's nothing secretive about storing the data. I think that there will be a change because we can't go without cloud. It's not possible.
00:24:17 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So is the North American market a little further or have a more open a different mindset? But do you think there will be a spillover to the European markets? And that's the reason why you continue on the European markets strongly with your product solutions?
00:24:32 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Yes, for sure. And we have German clients. It's not like that we don't see those German clients increase the numbers. Know for sure.
00:24:40 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So you know my community is very much composites related. Tell us a bit about Fakuma and K. K dear community is the Kunststoffmesse, if you pronounce it in a longer way, which is in Dusseldorf in October 2025 next year. Fakuma will be, I guess this year in October 2024, 15-19 (corrected).
00:25:01 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Yeah. I think around October 2024, 15-19 (corrected).
00:25:02 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So you will be attending as an exhibitor both there. Explain us composites guys. Do we miss something on these shows? Or would you say this is really injection molding plastics industry very much focused on polymers.
00:25:18 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: A composites is still, I mean we do see the shift more towards thermoplastic composites, but we refer or we often see our clients in the composites still thermosetting. So quality high performance parts or expensive parts. Here the quality control and the stability around needs to be higher, because you don't want to waste resources. So this is why it's for us interesting to be at this fairs and people reaching out to us. So, Fakuma, especially, I mean, for us diversifying. It's not that we are only, concentrating on the composites. We are open, we are thermoset, we are elastomers. We are talking thermoplastics. Now with the recycling industry coming so the composite field, I have the feeling at least, they are more open towards process technologies. So it's an easy playground for us. So and it's a smaller community. It's more familiar. The people know us already. We have a lot of supporters in the industry with Composites United, the Composite World. I think, this is more home turf, let's say.
00:26:29 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So now you say composites United. I'm seeing with one of my eyes, some awards. Can you take these awards? And we put them on the desk. Thanks for bringing your industry awards. So let's go both of them through. This one, I don't know. Best of Industry Award category: Measuring and Testing Technique in English, I would say. NETZSCH Process Intelligence. So tell us about this one and what was awarded here.
00:26:57 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: That was the the industry award for like really concentrating on our measurement technology. So the AI fancy ML stuff was not really a part of it. But what we could contribute in how we can evaluate materials in-mold. So this was for them the highlight. So in the category of the measurement and process technology we got awarded.
00:27:19 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: And is this an association or is this an exhibition?
00:27:23 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: This was awarded by let's say somehow media related industry awards. Where they award the companies in certain kind of industry categories where we won this one.
00:27:35 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: My critics on this award is: it's so heavy, very.
00:27:39 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Very Heavy.
00:27:39 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: I mean, this is like ten kilograms, maybe. This is so incredible heavy.
00:27:43 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: It's not lightweight construction.
00:27:44 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: No, it's not like that for sure. So and then we go to AVK.
00:27:48 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: AVK we got awarded for an innovation prize. So we were fresh on the market and we got also for processes.
00:27:56 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: And this is 20...
00:27:58 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: 2022. And this was last year in 2023, end of 2023.
00:28:02 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: So you continue with your awards every year?
00:28:05 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Exactly, exactly.
00:28:07 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Are you also a member of AVK?
00:28:09 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Oh, we are and they supported us when we, I remember, when we launched our company AVK was part of our launch video.
00:28:19 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Nice. Because AVK will be also the co, uh, partner of JEC Forum DACH in Stuttgart. Will you be there?
00:28:28 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Not not this year.
00:28:29 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Not this year okay. But maybe visiting, if time allows. Back to sensXPERT then, Cornelia, now, we've talked about your marketing, your business development and digital analytics, what do you have on your agenda? What is the focus for the future? What is besides the market entry? You are looking in the United States, North American markets, European markets. What is on your focus maybe product development wise?
00:29:00 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: If you ask the CEO now, yeah, of course it's all about strategy. It's all about we have you have this two worlds. Right. So when we talk about startups, we talk about either exit-driven or we talk about sustainable growth.
00:29:12 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Explain me both of them please.
00:29:13 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Okay. So exit-driven means you create something where you already know 18, 25 months - sold. So you create the minimum that is necessary to attract the first kind of clients.
00:29:26 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Is this window dressing?
00:29:27 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Yes. This is window dressing. Exactly. This is somehow window dressing. But we are NETZSCH. And NETZSCH is still 100% in family owned hands. So they are only interested in sustainable growth. And this is now our personal goal. We want to become the fourth business unit, meaning we need 60 million of revenue to officially name us the fourth business unit. So this is our goal. But what are we focusing on? I mean traditionally and historically grown we have thermoset materials. So this is where we started. I mean, Thermoplastics you can reuse. Right. So thermosetting materials were always the challenging one, the high performance, the high cost parts. But the EU Green Deal is coming. We need to highly, highly concentrate on the thermoplastic, on the recycling materials. So this is a strong focus point from the product development side, but also, a lot of clients reach out. I mentioned hydrogen market, a market, the hydrogen market, $5.9 billion market. We see a lot of problems with the curing process. It needs to be very, very slow. So a lot of untapped potentials winding. So this continuous process extrusion we haven't covered yet. So this is what we are highly focusing at the moment to really also go into that markets to serve the clients, because the need is there. They are reaching out to us. Then what else is on our agenda? Then we have a different kind of product offering. We are also in the sewer rehabilitation market, where we use our curing technology to oversee, if liners are cured. So with this high frequency technology, it's a contactless technology. So the contactless sensor still dielectric measurement principle, but it's not in contact with the material. So now we have the possibility to explore new markets like the medical, the food market, but also where it's a high frequency, measurement needed. This is on our focus. If we say focus, we the clients that we have currently, they will benefit the more clients we have because everyone learns from each other and.
00:31:37 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: You can transfer those knowledge to other markets.
00:31:40 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: We would like to build up this community and for me personally as CEO, of course, strategic development, we see partnerships, machine companies, raw material suppliers reaching out to us, talking about, potential integration of our technology. So there's a lot of there's a lot in stock. It will be busy.
00:31:59 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: You have a lot on your bucket list. I like that. And I like the idea of transferring those skills. Now you're coming from, for example, the aerospace industry. And now you're helping infrastructure applications to apply some of the knowledge. Maybe it's not one on one, but at least you've learned some of it. Now we're coming closer to the end of our interview, Cornelia. So, to our community, if you have a final say, what would be your final call to action after they've watched this video? Give them a call to action, please.
00:32:31 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: My call to action is now that you found out a little bit about our company, do not hesitate to contact us. There's a lot of potential that we most probably can also do for you. And we live by a motto. I mean, we see ourselves a little bit like a thought leader, not a little bit. We are a thought leader in a kind of sense where we say we developed a technology that is a single source of truth. So the motto, better together and living this community, what we realize, and a lot of our industry stakeholders do realize as well, there's not one player that has it all. So working together, supporting customers in a customer centric way, this is the way forward. So if you know someone that is in need of a process technology, we are here and we would be really honored to support you guys out there. So do not hesitate. And I would like to finish with a quote, if I can. We have a client, in the semi-finished composite manufacturing who said and his words, he said: sensXPERT is the technology of the future. And this is how I would conclude. And thanks for listening today. And we are looking forward to welcoming you in our community.
00:33:46 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: They can call you also up on LinkedIn. You're also on.
00:33:49 Cornelia Beyer, CEO sensXPERT: Yes, we are on LinkedIn, but also visit our website sensxpert.com and you get more informations over there.
00:33:56 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Co-Founder Composites Lounge: Thank you so much. Thanks for watching community. Bye.
***End of Transcription Cornelia Beyer of sensXPERT
Interview with Holger Plasser of voidsy gmbh about non-destructive testing during JEC World 2024, 07 March 2024 Villepente-Paris
00:00:09 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So wonderful. Good morning, dear LinkedIn Community and Composites Lounge members, composites experts. JEC exhibitors, JEC visitors. We are at the final day and going still strong. And now I'm at the booth of voidsy and voidsy stands for a destruction-free testing of composite materials. As you know, composites have always to be tested. And we don't want to waste too much material. Therefore, we are going to talk about destruction-free testing together with Holger Plasser. Thanks for being on my show here #Composites360onTour.
00:00:43 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: Thank you and hi Ilkay!
00:00:45 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So you have met Holger already... No, you have not met him, because you were excused on the live stream. That was your CTO who has already talked about the destruction-free testing. But today we want to, of course, demonstrate this to you. That live was remote. Now we are here physical at the booth of voidsy. And the first thing I would like to ask you is Holger, what is your role at voidsy and how did you come to this position?
00:01:27 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: So my role is the CEO of
00:01:29 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: The company. And this company is a some kind of spin off of the university in Upper Austria. And before the foundation of our company, we we did extensively research since 15 years and in the area of non-destructive testing based on the method of active tomography, and therefore a quite good identification of customer needs was possible. And so this led to the foundation of the company voidsy what means void detection systems, and led to the product development of the 3D V-ROX system we are showcasing at the JEC 2024.
00:02:10 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Very good. So we will come to that feature now. So your innovation, it's an innovative technology. Can you explain us about what is the innovation and the feature of it?
00:02:21 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: Of course, the smart and compact 3D V-ROX system incorporates cutting edge technology and enables, for the first time, a photothermal tomography and physically, this is based at a well-known method which is called active thermography. And in active thermography, energy is introduced in a component in order to bring it out of the thermal equilibrium. So in the case of the 3D V-ROX system we use optical excitation sources. You've already seen the halogen light. And the radiation of this lamp is absorbed at the component surface. And then the heat propagates into the material. And if there is a defect let's say a delamination, the heat is reflected and it travels back to the component surface. But at this point it already carries some information about the inner structure, right? During the entire measurement duration, the component surface temperature is monitored by an infrared camera. And from these measurement data, by solving an ill posed inverse problem, we're able to calculate the inner structure. And by using our post-processing, we we delve deeper than conventional methods, which often only provide surface level or two dimensional images. So with the voidsy technology, we provide three dimensional results to our customers in order to have also the ability to make conclusions about the depth of a defect. And therefore, we had to deal with the question how to show three dimensional results to our customers. And therefore, we decided to use the well-known representations from ultrasonic. So the measurement results from this device are shown in the A-Scan, B-Scan and C-Scan from ultrasonic testing.
00:04:19 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Thanks for the explanation of the features. But now of course there is already some classical and conventional ways like computational tomography. What would be the difference between your technology and what is existing today?
00:04:33 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: When compared to conventional non-destructive testing methods like ultrasonics or computed tomography, the voidsy technology stands out in several ways. First of all, it significantly speeds up the inspection process by enabling rapid scanning and immediate data analysis. And this is very valuable for many industries with high throughput and therefore the quality assurance can be speeded up by 80% compared to ultrasonic testing. So also when using the 3D V-ROX system, there is no need to contact the material for the test, and there is also no requirement for an applying and coupling agent like water in ultrasonic testing. Safety, also a very important point. Safety is of paramount concern in any industrial setting. Unlike in computed tomography, which relies on ionizing radiation and requires specialized safety measures to protect the operator. The voidsy V-ROX system operates without emitting harmful radiation, and this absence of ionizing radiation not only safeguards the health of the workforce, but it also simplifies organizational procedures, and therefore it can further enhance the safety and integrity of the manufacturing process. So accuracy is another key benefit. So the V-ROX software algorithms enable high precision imaging and defect detection, which complies to current standards. And for a working distance of 700mm, the lateral resolution of the system is 660 microns. And the material dependent depth resolution is 100 microns. This technology is based on a diffusion process and this means the reconstruction accuracy decreases for increasing defect depth. But we are able to have the same accuracy than ultrasonic testing for monolithic CFRP plates with the thickness up to ten millimeters. But in comparison to ultrasonics it is contactless. It is large area, therefore very fast and cost efficient.
00:07:23 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So thank you, Holger, for this information about the features and the advantages of your solution compared to conventional ones. And now my question is what type of customers, which market sectors are you targeting and what is the benefit for those?
00:07:40 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: So voidsy is focusing to two vertical market segments on the one hand side aviation and aerospace applications. On the other hand automotive industry and these industries greatly benefit from the voidsy technology. So for instance, in aerospace, where the integrity of the material of the part is paramount the 3D rock system allows for thorough inspections, the insurance of structural reliability and safety. And in automotive, where the production speed and the production efficiency is crucial the rapid scanning technique of the system enables a very fast quality assurance without compromising the accuracy. So in both market segments, we've observed that the compact design of the system is a very important point to our customers because, the compact design and the low weight with a overall weight below six kilograms and enables on the one hand side, a very easy to use application in mobile applications, for example in product development or also in mobile on site applications in the hangar in aviation. And on the other hand, it also simplifies the automation which is necessary for the automated inspection of very complex shaped or very large parts in the aerospace.
00:09:22 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Destruction-Free-testing as far as I'm concerned, from the Composites Lounge and our members and our interest in this industry. Destruction-Free-testing reduces waste. It keeps the economy more or less efficient, cost efficient. So therefore, I'm really a fan of destruction-free-testing. And I hope this will become much, much more widely used in the industry. There are some still some barriers, but you are a young company and I'm sure you will disrupt this industry. And I really applaud you guys for the endurance you are having in promoting this. If there is a skeptics within a customer. The best way to convince a customer is of course to show him the impact. What is the impact that this solution will provide to them?
00:10:20 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: The feedback from our customers represent a positive emotional impact and increase satisfaction in the use of our product. So the customers also see considerable added value in this compact design and in the ease of use of the 3D V-ROX system. The system is equipped with extensively equipped with existing sensor technology to support the user in his inspection tasks. Furthermore the customers have or they report less stress and higher confidence in their product, knowing that their products have undergone very in-depth and accurate quality assurance inspection. So this reassurance is is invaluable in many industries where the cost of failure can be high on the one hand side financially and also on the other hand in terms of brand reputation.
00:11:21 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: That was our final part of this interview. Now community, you have to know we are on the booth of ENGEL AUSTRIA. I'm not sure whether we've mentioned it. I'm sure we have mentioned it already. So we are at ENGEL. ENGEL is the world's technological leader when it comes to plastics for polymer, Spritzgusstechnik in German, i.e. injection molding in English. Just forgot the word to switch that in English. This is when you are three days talking German and English all the time. Sometimes the words drop. And now we will be continuing with Matthias Mayr of ENGEL Austria. Just a few words from your side. What is the relation of voidsy and ENGEL? What is the purpose of the cooperation?
00:12:09 Holger Plasser, CEO voidsy: So the cooperation is in principle based on our working in research before the foundation of the voidsy company. And now we are here together as partners. And ENGEL is showing the production of a part from aviation. And we are demonstrating the quality assurance by our 3D V-ROX system in the manufacturing cell of ENGEL.
00:12:35 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So that's very, very exciting. Community, this is it for now from voidsy. We continue from ENGEL.
***End of interview Holger Plasser of voidsy
Interview at JEC World 2024 with Christoph Schneeberger of Antefil Composite Tech on 6 March 2024, Villepinte-Paris
00:00:08 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Wonderful. Good evening. Now, meanwhile, at JEC World, dear LinkedIn community and composites experts. I'm now continuing our #composites360ontour coverage here on JEC World 2024. Of course, as you know, I'm inclined towards the German speaking countries, although we are here international and speaking in English. Now we are here in Zurich. We are in Switzerland at JEC World with Antefil Composites, and together with me is Christoph Schneeberger. Thank you for being part of our tour.
00:00:38 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: Thank you very much for joining us.
00:00:39 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So we will have in a few moments here hot chocolate, Swiss chocolate.
00:00:45 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: Swiss chocolate from Zurich.
00:00:46 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Can't wait for for the smell and the taste of the Swiss chocolate here. But of course we are not here for the Swiss chocolate, but for learning new innovation, new types of products. Now, I've discussed with Christoph several times the fiber situation and fiber sometimes have the problem. They have to, of course, get into a matrix and bond nicely with the resins. And in an ideal world this functions very easily. But there are challenges with that. Particularly with thermoplastics. And my mission is, of course, to make composites safe, high quality, no hassle, hassle free. And therefore I want to speak with the best experts that can provide these technologies. And Antefil is providing such an option in the future. To coat the fibers. Maybe shortly to yourself, Christoph, before we dive into the fiber technology, what is your role at Antefil and how did you come to that point?
00:02:00 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: My name is Christoph. I am the CEO of the company, but Antefil has only been a company for two years, so I'm one of four co-founders and that team of the four co-founders. We are three people who ran the science essentially behind the technology that we're now commercializing through Antefil. That is something that we've developed at the Technical University ETH in Zurich. Research there has started in 2014 on this topic of hybrid fibers, and that we're now commercializing through the spin-off Antefil.
00:02:29 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Can you run us through, let's dive, btw It will be very technical, through your product offering. What is it actually that your product is.
00:02:38 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: So what Antefil does is we spin glassfibers and we provide a thermoplastic coating during the spinning of the glass fibers. So we apply the matrix, the material that's really intended to hold the fibers together in the composite. We apply that directly to each and every individual glassfiber while it is being spun. So it's an inline process. And for this we are working together with established glass fiber manufacturers and inserting our hardware as a coating applicator module into their factories. So they then produce these hybrid fibers, which also down the line, actually provide a lot of advantages in terms of process ability and quality of the final component.
00:03:18 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So tell us about the the advantages of hybrid fibers. What advantages can someone expect that wants to have your spun fibers?
00:03:25 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: In the end, the major aspect really is those hybrid fibers are all about process efficiency. It's a very efficient hybrid intermediate material to be produced. So if you're matching again, what you described is bringing fibers and the matrix together somehow. Usually this is done through an impregnation process. So we need pressure. We need in case a thermoplastics heat or a solvent. And most crucially we need time to put the matrix in between the fibers somehow. Push it or pull it in between the fibers. And that is something that we completely circumvent. So by applying the material directly to the fiber, we don't have to go through an impregnation step. So this is actually the world's first value chain for composites with continuous fiber reinforcement, where you don't have to impregnate at all anywhere from the raw materials to the final component. So that makes it very efficient in terms of the material that you're getting as a product from us. But at the same time it can be processed very quickly. So what we mean by that is that you can achieve cycle times with thermoforming, or sometimes people are referring to this as cold pressing, cycle times of 20s and less, while achieving part qualities with fiber fillings of 70 volume percent with a poor content of less than half a percent. So very high performance numbers even with glass and, you know, polypropylene, PA 6. Whatever thermoplastic you would like, we can apply that to the glassfiber.
00:04:50 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Can you explain us, I mean, the composite industry has a very wide application range. We are talking sports, energy, the car industry, the planes. So who would be your ideal customer at the backend? Let's say the end user and who is actually your immediate customer?
00:05:10 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: In the end, it's all of us, right? We're trying to benefit society as a whole. So that's the kind of applications that we're going for. But you see behind us as well, what we write here is that we provide high performance hybrid fibers for mass markets. And so ultimately, what this means is that if we're talking about process efficiency, it's high lot numbers. It's very quick cycle times. So automatically we're in the field of mobility and transport especially the automotive sector. At the same time, obviously as a young startup, you know, we need to make money soon and so that's something where we're trying to also get into more applications that have shorter sales cycles, but that are also marketable in a more public environment. And sporting goods, as you mentioned, is a key aspect there. We have a lot of good contacts also today and yesterday already at JEC World 2024, which are driving the sporting goods market. And you know, coming from Switzerland, alpine sports skiing for example, is a big, big part of that obviously.
00:06:19 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: And also we got the Olympia 2024 here in Paris soon. So sport is of course an interesting topic. Now you said you are a young company. As a young company, I can imagine if you want to go into mass markets you need big, huge production plants. How do you cope with that challenge as a young company?
00:06:38 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: In the end, we need to make sure that we understand what our role is in this entire industry. And as a young company, we ourselves, in terms of resources, even on even personal resources, we cannot provide the big picture at this moment in time. So we need to rely on a big network of strong industrial partners. And that's especially true when it comes to the glassfibre manufacturers. So we can outsource the production of these hybrid fibers. But rather than just calling it outsourcing, creating strong partnerships and working with those strong partners, because what we provide and the value that we bring along is really the expertise and the coating process. We hold a patent as well. But, you know, patents are their own story. There is a certain strength in that. But we think ultimately the value that we do provide is the quality of the coating that we can produce and the expertise in how to process it then in the most efficient process for the part producer, that will also, in the end, benefit the end customer.
00:07:35 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Walking through your booth, Christoph, I've seen also there is a press here. What is it about that you are showing a press?
00:07:41 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: With the opportunity to represent ourselves here at JEC World, we also may want to make a live demonstration. And so we talked about cycle time and efficiency and how quickly fibres can be processed. That's something we want to show live. We have a press here where we're doing a thermal process live demonstration. Starting out with just a simple unidirectional arrangement of fibers that are then being pre-heated using infrared and then consolidated in a cold press tool. If you're stopping by JEC World check if you're stopping by any other exhibit where we are bringing the press along, you can come and you get a sample that you can take with you home.
00:08:19 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: We're coming slowly towards the end of our interview. What else and why should people come and visit you?
00:08:25 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: Well, you mentioned it in the beginning, right? We're all about coating fibers. And you mentioned Swiss chocolate that we're bringing out. So what we're bringing out is a chocolate fountain. So you can come and coat your own fibers. You can create your own hybrid fibers with Swiss chocolate as the matrix material.
00:08:39 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Christoph, this video may be published after the JEC world, most probably. Our viewers will see it later. Is there any chance on future events that they will enjoy your Swiss chocolate?
00:08:53 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: Of course, that's what we're all about. As a company from Zurich. We feel it to be our obligation to provide that, obviously.
00:09:01 Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Thank you so much for your time, and I wish you a great show.
00:09:03 Christoph Schneeberger, CEO Antefil: Thank you as well. And likewise.
***end of interview with Christoph Schneeberger of Antefil
M2N Gipfel Announcement anl?sslich der TechTextil mit Nina Pirchmoser und Martin Hirschmann
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So einen wundersch?nen guten Nachmittag, liebe Linkedin Community, Converting Experten da drau?en! Ich habe heute hier den Martin Hirschmann und die Nina Pirchmoser von der M2N Media GmbH hier. Wir sprechen über deren M2N Converting Gipfel, der im Juni 2024 stattfinden wird: #00:00:21-0#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: 26. bis 28 Juni 2024 im Hotel East. #00:00:25-4#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Ihr seht Martin hat die Daten alle gleich konkret zur Hand. Aber bevor wir über den Gipfel sprechen, Martin, du hast ja gestern eine Coverage gemacht, und zwar über den ersten Messetag hier auf der Techtextil, und darüber würden wir gerne als erstes sprechen. #00:00:40-3#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: Ganz genau, also, die Techtextil ist für uns in früheren Jahren eigentlich eher immer so eine Messe gewesen, die man mitgenommen hat. Aber es ist, was den Converting Bereich angeht, doch deutlich gewachsen. Deutlich mehr Aussteller mit Relevanz für diesen Sektor und auch viel neues zu sehen. Ganz gro?es Thema auf der Messe, vor allen Dingen künstliche Intelligenz. #00:01:03-0#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Also die künstliche Intelligenz auf dem Vormarsch auch in Textilien. Hast du da ein Beispiel, wie sich das erkennbar macht? #00:01:10-8#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: Es geht zum Beispiel um das Recycling Thema. Also wie kann man Recyclingstr?me intelligent managen, und da ist natürlich KI auch ein Weg, wie man da eben gewisse Stoffstr?me optimieren kann, wie man da weniger Müll im Endeffekt verursacht. Das war auch gestern Thema bei der einleitenden Podiumsdiskussion mit Beteiligung vom VDMA unter anderem. #00:01:32-8#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: Die Techtextil habe ich so den Eindruck, ist richtig gut besucht. Heute ist ja der zweite Messetag. Du hattest mir heute morgen gesagt, du hast 1.700 Aussteller irgendwo gelesen, oder? #00:01:49-2#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: Das war die offizielle Zahl von der Messe Frankfurt, und das spiegelt sich auch wider in dem, was wir an den Messest?nden h?ren. Also, man trifft sich, es ist viel los. Es ist auch heute noch mal deutlich mehr los als gestern. Das sieht man auch hier in der Halle natürlich. Gut besucht, gute Stimmung, würde ich sagen. #00:02:07-2#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Welche Wichtigkeit hat diese Industrie für Converting? #00:02:13-8#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: Es ist auf jeden Fall ein ein flexibles Material, das für viele Maschinenhersteller im Converting Bereich natürlich enorm wichtig ist, neben den Kunststofffolien und dem Papier natürlich. Vliesstoffe ist dann natürlich das Stichwort, was man zuerst nennen sollte. Aber es geht noch darüber hinaus und alles was gewickelt werden kann, spielt natürlich auch hier eine gro?e Rolle. #00:02:35-3#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Gut, dann, denke ich, haben wir es zu Techtextil soweit, weil Techtextil oder technische Textilien ist ja nur eine Branche. Wir haben ja viel mehr Segmente in der Converting industrie #00:02:44-6#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: Genau! #00:02:45-0#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Ich würde jetzt gerne mit der Nina als n?chstes sprechen, über euren Gipfel. #00:02:48-9#
Martin Hirschmann, MD of M2N: Da freuen wir uns drauf. #00:02:50-1#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So, jetzt sind wir hier bei der Fachpresse, und zwar habe ich die Nina Pirchmoser bei mir von der M2N Media Gmbh, und wir sprechen wie eben mit Martin angekündigt über den M2N Converting Gipfel. Und zwar findet der ja dann in Hamburg statt. Die Details kommen gleich. Ich würde gerne, Nina, dich erst mal kurz vorstellen. Nina ist also im Head of Sales bei der M2N und kümmert sich um den Kontakt mit der Community, mit den Kunden, und allen Experten und Expertinnen, und bist natürlich auch sehr rührig am mit organisieren. Hab ich irgendwas vergessen, Nina, dann erg?nze es gerne. #00:03:40-7#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Ja, also, ich bin schon ewig in der Branche unterwegs, in der Converting Branche, muss man sagen, also in der Beschichtungs- und Bahnverarbeitenden Industrie, deswegen auch der M2N Converting Gipfel. Da geht's eben auch um diese Themen, um die Verarbeiter von Bahnf?rmigen Materialien, Papier, Film und Folie. Und ja, und ich freue mich heute, dass ich mit Ilkay ?zkisaoglu (DER Social CEO) hier bin und dass wir da drüber sprechen. #00:04:05-7#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Genau und technische Textilien, also die Techtextil passt ja da richtig gut. Das sind ja Bahnen, die da verarbeitet werden. Entweder werden sie verwoben, oder sie werden gelegt. Zum Beispiel Vliese. Wir hatten gerade einen Vlieshersteller besucht gemeinsam. Von daher ist das eine der Branchen. Welche anderen Branchen habt ihr so noch im Fokus bei M2N Media? #00:04:28-2#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Da gibt es ganz viele überschneidungen, weil in der Branche, du hast ja schon gesagt, da werden Bahnf?rmige Materialien verarbeitet, also unter anderem auch die Vliesstoffe, die nonwovens. Und ich sage jetzt mal, wir sprechen da auch die Zulieferer, also die jetzt zum Beispiel Schneidemaschinen machen, Schneideanlagen, Wickelanlagen, Leute die jetzt auch Inspektionssysteme liefern oder Messer liefern, und wir sprechen da also zum einen eben die textilen Anlagenbauer an, aber auch Papier, Film und Folie. Also alles, was flexibel l?uft. Folien, ist natürlich Hauptthema, und da sind jetzt auch die Zulieferer, zum Beispiel also Walzen-Unternehmen oder Zulieferer, die Messer liefern oder die Inspektionssysteme liefern, und die sind natürlich in diesen verschiedenen Branchen unterwegs. Deswegen gibt es ja hier auch einige überschneidungen. Wir haben hier auch schon einige Kunden besucht, die in dem Bereich t?tig sind. Die sind natürlich auch auf mehreren Standbeinen aufgebaut. #00:05:34-3#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Jetzt ist es ja kein Zufall, dass wir hier bei der Fachpresse stehen, Nina. Warum stehen wir hier bei der Fachpresse? Was hat das mit dir zu tun? #00:05:41-5#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Wir sind hier auf der Techtextil, weil wir unser erstes gro?es Highlight pr?sentieren: und zwar haben wir jetzt das M2N Converting Showcase rausgebracht. In diesem Showcase, das ist ein Industrieguide, da sind einige Unternehmen drin, die in diesem Bereich t?tig sind, also Maschinenbauer, Zulieferer, die eben flexible Materialien, Vliesstoffe, Papier, Film und Folie verarbeiten. Wer eine Ausgabe m?chte, kann sie hier direkt abholen auf der Messe, auf der Techtextil. Wir sind auch auf mehreren Messen unterwegs. Wir haben auch ein ganz tolles Interview: da ist dann auch Ilkay mit am Start. #00:06:25-4#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Kanns ja kaum glauben, Mensch! Danke! Also, liebe Community! Ihr müsst wissen, der Martin Hirschmann hat mich im Podcast Interviewt, und das ist natürlich genial. Man kann ja auch aus einem Podcast dann gleich auch ein Interview Script generieren, und das war sehr kurzweilig. Ich vert?gge euch gleich mal den Podcast dazu, und wie gesagt, Nina hat ja schon gesagt, es liegt hier aus. So sieht das aus. Kann man das auch downloaden, Nina? #00:06:50-9#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Das kannst du downloaden, das findest du auf unserer Webseite, auf der www.M2N-converting.com - Ihr k?nnt mir eine eMail schicken. Ich bin auch auf der Webseite auffindbar. Kann man auch bestellen als Printexemplar, und wie gesagt, das ist auch eine übersicht an den Key-Playern aus der Converting Branche: Maschinenbauer, Zulieferer, also ganz tolle Firmen, die da schon mit dabei sind, und, wie gesagt auch Experteninterviews, die über Themen sprechen, die die Branche interessieren. #00:07:20-5#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Genau also, hier haben wir zum Beispiel Coatema, einer meiner Kunden auch. Thomas Kolbusch, Shoutout an dich an der Stelle! Also ihr seht hier sehr, sehr viele interessante Firmen auch da drin. Dann lass uns mal über den Gipfel selber sprechen, liebe Nina, und zwar gehen wir mal in diese Richtung. #00:07:35-9#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Ja Nina, der M2N Converting Gipfel in Hamburg! #00:07:53-5#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Tolle Veranstaltung, #00:07:55-3#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: tolle Veranstaltung, #00:07:56-4#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: kann ich nur jedem sagen, der in der Branche ist. Er muss dabei sein! #00:08:00-6#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Also, Call-to-Action an Euch liebe Community, meldet euch an, falls ihr euch noch nicht angemeldet habt. Es ist aber auch so. Dieser M2N Gipfel, hat etliche Highlights. Gib unserer Community doch mal zwei, drei Highlights, wo du sagst, das darf man nicht verpassen, sodass richtig FOMO entsteht, sog. Fear of Missing Opportunity. #00:08:19-4#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Okay also zum einen, das gr??te Highlight, würde ich jetzt mal sagen, ist auf jeden Fall das Networking der Community, der Converting Community. Also, es sind wichtige Leute da, Unternehmen aus der Branche, und die legen natürlich sehr viel wert auf das Networking in der Branche miteinander. Es sind Entscheider da. Es sind Vertriebsleiter da, die dann quasi miteinander gut Zeit zum austauschen haben, und das Ganze natürlich begleitet von einem hochkar?tigen Speaker Programm, wo du ja auch mit dabei bist, mit am Start bist. Aber jetzt zu den Themen. Zum einen Themen, die die Branche besch?ftigen, Fachkr?ftemangel, wo kriege ich Leute her? Und in dem Zusammenhang, die Themen, die stricken ineinander über. Unternehmensnachfolge, wie mache ich mein Unternehmen Zukunftssicher? Das betrifft jede Branche und auch die Converting Branche. Da haben wir aber auch Thema KI. Michael Welsch ist da, der dann zum Beispiel sagt, wenn ich jetzt schon Fachkr?ftemangel hab, ich kann ja auch die KI nutzen. Der hat zum Beispiel das System mit ChatGPT entwickelt, dass er in der Produktion von Converting anwenden kann. Wo man sagt: Okay, wo ich halt vielleicht früher drei Facharbeiter braucht hab, braucht man dann vielleicht nur einen plus diese KI, die da mithilft. Und das sind schon spannende Themen, weil das natürlich für jeden, der jetzt in diesem Bereich im Maschinenbau, im Converting auch ist, umsetzbar werden wird. Hoffentlich. Oder Diskussionen aufmacht. #00:10:00-0#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Ich sage immer von der Praxis für die Praxis, oder? #00:10:02-4#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Genau, genau, und natürlich das Thema, das du dann auch bespielst, Batteriethema, ist auch ganz gro? im Rennen. Da haben wir auch einige Experten da, die in der Diskussion sitzen. Ilkay, da kannst du ja auch schon bisschen was verraten, was wir machen werden. #00:10:17-8#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Ja, ganz genau, also, ich moderiere ein Panel zur Batterie, und wir haben bei dem Panel Customcells dabei, ein Batteriehersteller. Wobei Customcells sprechen wir übers Batterie Managementsystem (BMS) beispielsweise, weil, wenn das im Flugzeug oder im Fahrzeug eingebaut wird, ist es ja wichtig, dass das Management System auch passt, also diese ganze digitale Verknüpfung. Dann haben wir bei der Batterie natürlich noch das Problem des (Thermal) Runaways. "Run Away" hei?t also, die Batterie kann auch mal Feuer fangen, und dann ist es natürlich wichtig, dass diese Batterie nicht au?er Kontrolle ger?t, und von daher haben wir da an Experten, den Uwe Becker dabei, von Becker Insulation, und dann haben wir die Christina Toigo aus Wien, ?sterreich, dabei. Sie ist Expertin in Sachen der Technik, und mit ihr gehen wir einfach nochmal das Ganze im gro?en und ganzen durch. Sie schl?gt uns dann immer für diese einzelnen Themen dann auch die Brücken. Vielen Dank an alle die Panelisten, die da mit dabei sind, wird eine wunderbare Geschichte. Im übrigen mache ich dieses Jahr mehrere solche Panels, veranstalte ich mit der Composites Lounge, die n?chste wird auch auf der ILA sein. Da geht es dann um Flugzeugbatterien. Bei Euch geht es mehr allgemein um Batterien, weil die wird ja auch in den Transportbereichen etc. eingesetzt. #00:11:28-6#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Wir schlagen die Brücke zu den Convertern und zu den Converting (Zulieferer-) Firmen, die dann auch die eine oder andere Anwendungen drin haben in der Batterie Produktion. Ich bin auch schon ganz gespannt auf auf die Christina Toigo. Wir hatten da ja kurz mit ihr mal gesprochen. Die hat aber Themen angesprochen, wo Firmen beispielm??ig auch Anwendungen finden, die das zuerst gar nicht wussten, dass sie in diesem Bereich auch t?tig werden k?nnen. Das ist ja auch sehr spannend. #00:11:59-4#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Das ist ja der Zweck. Wir wollen der Converting industrie wirklich auch die Anwendungen n?herbringen. Also, liebe Community, ihr seht, wir laufen hier durch den Gang, mitten durch die Techtextil. Es kommt natürlich vor, am zweiten Messetag sind viele Leute, ist viel Traffic hier. Dass wir mit dem einen oder anderen rempeln, wir hoffen ihr seht uns das bitte nach, liebe Besucher, liebe Experten, die ihr euch das im Nachgang anschaut, weil wir ziehen unser Ding hier durch, Nina, oder? #00:12:27-5#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Aber es ist gut für die Messe. Ich meine, es soll ja viel los sein. Für die Aussteller auch wieder gut! #00:12:31-4#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: So, jetzt Nina ist noch die Frage, okay, die Highlights wissen wir. Wir wissen jetzt die Inhalte. Für wen macht ihr diesen Gipfel? Wer soll da kommen? Wer hat da den meisten Nutzen davon? #00:12:44-7#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Also auf jeden Fall, wie gesagt, die Converting Leute, also alle, die in der Bahn verarbeitenden Coating Branche, Converting Branche unterwegs sind, Zulieferer, die Firmenchefs, die sagen, ich bin in diesem Bereich t?tig. Auch sag ich mal, wo es darum geht: Unternehmensnachfolge. Wie schaut es da aus, dass ich mein Unternehmen Zukunftssicher mach? Da haben wir zum Beispiel die Lena Lührmann auch dabei mit Lars Hagenlocher hat sie das gleiche Thema auch bei ihnen in der Firma hatten. Wie binde ich denn die junge Generation ein, also wie gesagt, durchaus Entscheider und Unternehmenschefs. #00:13:25-8#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Den Herrn kennst Du auch, oder? #00:13:27-3#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Den kennen wir auch. Das ist Herr Hecker (OE-A) #00:13:29-3#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Aber er hat uns noch nicht gesehen. #00:13:31-9#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Genau, OE-A Printed Electronics. Da haben wir ja auch ein Fachmagazin dazu. Die ProFlex. Da geht es dann um die gedruckte, flexible organische Elektronik. #00:13:44-6#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Okay, Inhalte haben wir. Wir wissen, für wen das ganze ist, wer da den meisten Nutzen rauszieht. Also meldet euch gerne für diesen genialen Gipfel an und was immer sehr, sehr wichtig ist bei solchen Conventions oder bei diesen Formaten, Nina, ist ja die M?glichkeit auch des Netzwerkes. Ist das gegeben? Ist vielleicht jetzt eine rhetorische Frage zugegebenerma?en, aber für uns da einfach mal auch durch den Netzwerkgedanken durch. #00:14:10-8#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Wir haben ein wundersch?nes Rahmenprogramm, also der Gipfel findet in Hamburg statt, der einzige Gipfel in Hamburg vielleicht. Bildhaft gesprochen. Vom Rahmenprogramm her treffen wir uns am Vorabend ganz ungezwungen. Also wer schon da ist. Es reisen ja einige an, weil sie sagen, okay, ich habe vielleicht vorher einen Kundentermin, komm dann am Abend vorher schon an. Da werden wir uns ungezwungen zu einem Drink, zu einem Welcome Drink treffen. Es ist auch die EM, also es sind auch Fu?ballspiele wahrscheinlich daziwschen. Vielleicht kommen wir mal dazu, dass wir ein Deutschland-Spiel sehen, und natürlich im Hauptabend, also am 27, da ist das Hauptabendprogramm, da sind wir in einer wundersch?nen Location mit Blick auf die Speicherstadt an der Elbe, also da haben wir exklusives Catering. Die Leute k?nnen abendlichen Blick genie?en und kühles Bierchen an der Elbe trinken, und darauf sind wir schon sehr gespannt. Also dass da wirklich ein sch?ner Abend Ausklang gemeinsam ist und Leute miteinander auch sich nochmal austauschen. Die Referenten sind dabei, die das auch nochmal Rückfragen starten kann, und ich finde es auch immer ganz toll, wenn da reger Austausch stattfindet. Natürlich fürs Leibliche wohl ist immer gesorgt. #00:15:35-8#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Es ist immer wichtig, dass man diesen Netzwerkgedanken auch immer wieder nachsch?rft und auch sich die Zeit nimmt, da ins Netzwerken reinzugehen. Ja, wunderbar Liebe Nina! Dann wei? ich über den Gipfel vollkommen bescheid, und die Community natürlich auch. Liebe Community, geht jetzt mal auf, sag mal bitte die Website auf! #00:15:53-1#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Auf die zwei: www.M2N-converting-gipfel.de #00:15:57-4#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Da kriegst du dann das Ticket, da kannst dich aber auch vorher informieren. Informiert euch über alle Panels, und das Thema ist ja ein bisschen wirklich weitl?ufiger. Das ist nicht nur Converting, da ist ja sogar Social Media Thema mit dabei, dass ich diesmal nicht bediene. Ich bedienen das Thema halt aus der technischen Seite aus, aber vielleicht machen wir da noch ein Panel haben wir gesagt, zwischen Gen Z und Gen X. Meine Tochter die filmt n?mlich gerade hier durch die Techtextil durch, und das ist immer wieder interessant, sagte die Nina auch, das sind ja immer Themen, die auch in den unterschiedlichsten mittelst?ndischen Unternehmen auch aufkommen. Also vielleicht sprechen wir auch darüber. Vielen dank liebe Nina für die Auskünfte, und ich denke, jetzt w?re ein Espresso angebracht, oder? #00:16:39-6#
Nina Pirchmoser, MD of M2N: Ja, auf jeden Fall, und ich freue mich, wenn sich die Leute melden und wenn Fragen sind, gerne auch auf mich zukommen, und Ilkay du hast ja auch ein gro?es Netzwerk, also da freuen wir uns und sind auch schon sehr, sehr gespannt auf die ganzen Themen. #00:16:54-6#
Ilkay ?zkisaoglu, Composites Lounge: Absolut und vielen Dank! #00:16:54-6#
***end of transcription interview with M2N