Ideas − Development − Exchange

The Technology Innovation Center (TIC) is located in close proximity to UNTHA 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 UNTHA 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 UNTHA's smart services, such as the MyUNTHA customer platform and the UNTHA GENIUS predictive maintenance system.

"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 at UNTHA shredding technology GmbH.

Further development and prototyping

In the TIC, shredders are developed for future customer and market requirements. "We observe very 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 at UNTHA and Director of the TIC.

UNTHA 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 UNTHA 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.

Open Innovation Space

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 UNTHA 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 Stefan Scheiflinger-Ehrenwerth.

The Open Innovation Space (OIS) is a large, modular room for workshops, meetings, and informal gatherings and discussions. It is where UNTHA's history meets the present and the future. For example, the OIS displays cutting units that were part of the first UNTHA shredders. At the same time, a large panoramic window provides a view of the assembly area where prototypes are being worked on. This allows visitors and the team to always keep an eye on what UNTHA is all about: innovative shredding solutions that meet current and future requirements – both those of customers and markets.

Images available for download (free of charge for press purposes, image credit: UNTHA shredding technology GmbH) https://untha.canto.de/b/KU6N2

Images 1+2: (from left) Christian Lanner and Stefan Scheiflinger-Ehrenwerth with the approximately 6-meter-high “landmark” of the UNTHA Technology Innovation Center – an XR rotor that has been converted into a sculpture

Images 3+4: Christian Lanner and Stefan Scheiflinger-Ehrenwerth in the Open Innovation Space of the UNTHA TIC

Image 5: Stefan Scheiflinger-Ehrenwerth and Christian Lanner in the Open Innovation Space of the UNTHA TIC. UNTHA founder Anton Unterwurzacher can be seen in the background with his motto.

Images 6+7: Insight into the assembly hall of the UNTHA TIC