UNTHA shredding technology GmbH has opened the UNTHA Technology Innovation Center in Kuchl near Salzburg. The company’s research department, product digitization, prototype development, and assembly are all based there. There is also plenty of space for the personal exchange of ideas with different departments, external partners, and customers.
The Technology Innovation Center (TIC) is located in close proximity to company’s headquarters, the production and assembly sites, and UNTHA e-technology. The location was deliberately chosen because the TIC not only houses the company’s R&D team but is also intended to become a meeting place for employees from all areas. In addition to its own assembly hall for prototype construction, the new location also houses CAD workstations, a laboratory, a modular meeting room, and space for constructive exchange. The TIC is also driving forward the further development of AI-supported apps and smart services, such as the MyUNTHA customer platform and the UNTHA GENIUS predictive maintenance system.
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“Our goal is to continue to have the best shredders on the market. To prepare our machines for future market and customer requirements, we are pursuing an open innovation approach at TIC. We don’t want to develop our products behind closed doors and only find out after the market launch whether they meet our customers’ requirements. Instead, we want to be transparent during the development process and incorporate various perspectives and opinions—from different departments, external partners, and our customers. After all, they are the ones who use our shredders every day and can contribute intuitively to their further development through their experience,” says Stefan Scheiflinger-Ehrenwerth, Chief Innovation Officer.
In the TIC, shredders are developed for future customer and market requirements. “We observe closely which materials are entering markets and industries and which are approaching the end of their life cycle. From this, we can deduce which application areas will require suitable shredding solutions in the coming years. Our goal is to have the right machines ready,” says Christian Lanner, Head of Research & Prototyping and Director of the TIC.
The comapny’s shredders are developed for a wide range of applications and materials and adapted to individual customer requirements. The portfolio includes ‘smaller’ machines such as the new generation of RS series models as well as the heavy-duty XR and ZR shredders weighing 40 tons. When developing new technologies, three important areas must be brought into harmony: mechanics, electronics, and digitalization. The employees at the TIC have extensive know-how and many years of experience to take all of this into account in the (further) development of UNTHA shredders. In interdisciplinary teams, they work on ideas for new shredding solutions, build and assemble prototypes, put them into operation, and carry out practical tests. These take place under real conditions at existing customers. These test runs are monitored by the development team and technicians. Process data is collected and evaluated using sensitive measurement technology and the UNTHA GENIUS assistance system. This allows potential improvements to be identified and implemented as early as the prototype phase.
Constructive feedback and open communication play a major role in the TIC. That is why the new building is also intended to be a point of contact and meeting place for customers and employees from Kuchl and around the world. “Our customers know our shredders inside out because they work with them every day. And our team also has different points of contact with the machines. Their feedback is therefore very valuable for our work. The TIC is a place where all these experiences can be shared to continuously develop our products,” explains Scheiflinger-Ehrenwerth.
