Langkampfen, 29 October 2024

Bridging the gap between business and science

The Center for Production, Robotics & Automation at the MCI Entrepreneurial School® and STIHL Tirol, a garden tool manufacturer and battery specialist, are presenting their initial results after one year of ongoing collaboration.

Several innovative solutions for production processes in Langkampfen have already been developed thanks to the collaboration between the Innsbruck university and the team of experts from STIHL Tirol. The cooperation focuses on production automation, innovations in assembly, material flow optimisation and employee training and development in the use of the latest technologies and processes.

Johannes Pfister, Head of Production Planning and Equipment Construction at STIHL Tirol, highlights an important factor: “Automation is becoming increasingly important to us. Our focus is on improving manual tasks by boosting production efficiency, not by reducing the workforce, but by making their work easier. This approach helps us remain competitive while safeguarding jobs.” Benjamin Massow, Head of the Center for Production, Robotics & Automation at the MCI, adds: “Job profiles are changing rapidly. Today, an employee in the production department of an industrial company also operates robots and their role is constantly evolving.”

By identifying automation potential, collaboratively developing technical solutions and implementing them in functional prototypes, STIHL Tirol will be able to plan and implement innovative systems and processes more quickly in the future.

STIHL Tirol Managing Director Jan-Grigor Schubert is pleased with the collaboration, which has been initially established for a period of five years: “Bridges between business and science are becoming increasingly important. The ongoing collaboration between the Center for Production, Robotics & Automation and our company is a good example of this. We need the brightest minds and the capability to transfer research findings into practical applications in order to ensure long-term success.”

Information about STIHL Tirol:
STIHL Tirol GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of the STIHL Group and is based in Langkampfen, Austria. Cordless products are produced at this site and STIHL Tirol is also a centre of excellence for ground-based gardening tools, which are produced and developed in Langkampfen. In 2023, the company employed 887 people.

STIHL company profile:
The STIHL Group develops, manufactures and distributes motorised equipment for forestry, agriculture, landscape management, the building industry and private garden owners. The product range is supplemented with digital solutions and services. Products are generally distributed through specialist dealers and STIHL's own online shops, which will be expanded internationally over the next few years. This includes 42 sales and marketing STIHL subsidiaries, around 120 importers and more than 55,000 specialist dealers in over 160 countries. STIHL manufactures products in seven countries worldwide: Germany, USA, Brazil, Switzerland, Austria, China and the Philippines. STIHL has been the best-selling chainsaw brand worldwide since 1971. The company was founded in 1926 and has its corporate headquarters in Waiblingen near Stuttgart, Germany. In 2023, STIHL had 19,805 employees worldwide and a turnover of 5.27 billion euros.

Information about the Center for Production, Robotics & Automation at the MCI:
The Center for Production, Robotics & Automation is a joint initiative of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) Tyrol and MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® and serves as a contact point for companies. In addition to companies, tomorrow's experts – young people, students, and start-ups – are supported through access to technology and know-how. The goal of the Center for Production, Robotics & Automation is to demonstrate the possible implementation of current and emerging technologies and methodological approaches in production processes. The solutions are manufacturer and service provider neutral.

(Images: STIHL Tirol, reprint free of charge)

The picture shows the teams led by project managers Benjamin Massow from the MCI (2nd from right) and Johannes Pfister from STIHL Tirol (3rd from left).

Automated palletising using robots is one of the work packages explored in the collaboration between STIHL Tirol and the Center for Production, Robotics & Automation at the MCI. The picture shows the teams led by project managers Benjamin Massow from the MCI (2nd from right) and Johannes Pfister from STIHL Tirol (3rd from left).

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From left: Anton Brotsmann, Benjamin Massow and Gabriel Brugger from the Center for Production, Robotics & Automation at MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® and STIHL Tirol Production Planner Christian Schwoch-Werner with a functional prototype for an automated production step.

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