Altopack, an Altopascio-based company (LU), specializing in the development of packaging solutions in the food sector and line automation systems, has won Istituto Italiano Imballaggio’s Innovation and Technology award for its prototype of its Packaging Machine Tending Robot – an anthropomorphic robotic unit designed to increase automation of production lines. The prototype was shown as a world premiere during the last edition of Ipack-IMA.
The ‘Oscar of Imballaggio’ is a contest devised by Istituto Italiano Imballaggio, the Italian Institute of Packaging, which has been held every year since 1957. Various editions have been modified and different categories added up to 2015, when ‘Best Packaging’ become the official name of the contest.
When in 2020 the competition for the first time opened up to innovation in the field of packaging machines, Altopack entered the shortlist of finalists with a bag for spaghetti in the double square bottom made with the packaging machine AOD – Ultra. This time Altopack received the highest recognition winning the Innovation and Technology award.
Speaking on the news, Giuseppe Vezzani, founder and CEO of Altopack, says “Altopack has always made technological innovation its distinctive element, but to obtain certain results it takes a lifetime of work and dedication.”
A young project, born of a great tradition
Developed by Cyborg Line, the robot convinced the jury for its innovative features. Cyborg Line is a startup located in Bologna.
The robot, which is currently in the prototype stage and will be presented in 2025, was made to eliminate low-load movements but with high frequency. Combining the advantages of robotics with industrial automation, Cyborg Line offers producers a competitive advantage of a robot with human features, which is able to interact with the surrounding environments within industrial spaces.
Automation, flexibility and safety
The robot is designed for operating in sync with the high speed of modern automatic machines, without undergoing any fatigue and reducing the risks of error and contamination during the production process. The robot promises to increase the flexibility, reliability and versatility of a modern packaging line.
The Oscar of Imballaggio, says Matteo Piras, Altopack CFO, is an important step within a path already full of successes.
Altopack was founded in 1999 in Altopascio, near Lucca, and is an important player in the food sector, and a leader in pasta packaging solutions. In 2018, the company opened a local unit in the heart of the packaging valley, in Borgo Panigale (Bologna).
