Author: sHq_LoGiNz

Food and consumer goods manufacturers face growing pressure to reduce plastic packaging while maintaining speed, cost efficiency, and shelf appeal. For Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, this meant designing entirely new secondary packaging machines capable of replacing plastic shrink-wrap with paper.

Since 1969, Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH has specialized in developing and manufacturing single machines and complete lines for end-of-line packaging. The company is one of the leading international manufacturers of film and carton packaging machines, as well as equipment for palletizing, buffer, and conveyor technology, with more than 13,500 machines installed worldwide.

Plastic shrink machines depend on heat tunnels that consume large amounts of energy and limit sustainability gains. Paper alternatives introduce new challenges around material handling, adhesion, reliability, and speed. At the same time, Meurer customers required solutions that fit existing footprints, matched upstream line speeds, and minimized investment risk.

Meurer developed two complementary paper-based multipack solutions: a paper sleeve solution for premium packaging and a low-material tape solution for cost-sensitive applications. The company needed a platform that could support rapid innovation, high-precision motion, and data-driven reliability while helping customers navigate a market that is still learning how to adopt new packaging formats.

By eliminating heat tunnels, the solutions achieved up to 90% lower energy consumption while maintaining the same footprint and speed as legacy plastic packaging machines.

Rockwell Automation technology helped make this level of performance possible. Modular programming based on the OMAC standard accelerated development and commissioning, even for machines with 18 synchronized axes. In addition, FactoryTalk® Optix™ provides built-in data visibility, helping operators and engineers monitor performance, diagnose issues, and optimize operations.

The new machine concepts delivered measurable benefits. Machine efficiency exceeded 99%, outperforming contract targets. Manufacturers also gained greater flexibility to meet sustainability goals with lower investment risk and a faster time to market for entirely new machine concepts. The solutions also maintained the same footprint and speed as legacy plastic packaging machines for easy replacement.

“We typically contract for 98% efficiency. But achieving more than 99% is a huge benefit when you calculate total output,” explains Matthias Look, Global Sales and Marketing Director, Meurer Verpackungssysteme.

Read more on RockwellAutomation.com

###

Join the Biomimicry Institute for this year’s Ray of Hope Accelerator Demo Day. A 90-minute interactive showcase of ten startups using nature’s strategies to solve some of the world’s most urgent challenges. After four months in the accelerator, these founders are ready to share how biomimicry is shaping the future of energy, materials, water, biodiversity and more. Come prepared to ask questions and dig in.

​Agenda (90 minutes)

• ​Opening Remarks
• ​Rapid-fire Founder Pitches
• ​Interactive Breakout Rooms – choose your startup & join the conversation
• ​Closing Remarks

REGISTER HERE

​You’ll Meet:

• ​BioWraptor, Inc., United States of America – Utilizes tardigrade-inspired synthetic peptides to protect perishable biomolecules from heat and degradation, eliminating the need for expensive and energy-intensive cold-chain logistics.
• ​DisperseBio Ltd., Israel – Redefines biofilm and biofouling control through biomimetic peptides inspired by nature. Its breakthrough technology tackles over $100B in annual industrial and maritime damage by activating microbes’ natural, sustainable dispersal pathways instead of relying on toxic biocides.
• ​Fungi Life Corporation, Colombia – Leverages a cell-free formula to replicate the natural biochemical strategy that fungi use to emulsify and break down complex hydrocarbons, accelerating oil spill and soil remediation without introducing live microbes into the environment.
• ​Mireta Urban Dynamics LLC, United States of America – Translates the 500-million-year-old network intelligence of slime molds into generative design algorithms that help planners build highly resilient, resource-efficient city infrastructure.
• ​PhysaFlow, Inc., United States of America – An edge-native AI platform that leverages the universal design principles of biological flow networks to progressively unlock the estimated 30–40% of AI data center capacity currently stranded—reducing power, cooling, and water consumption while increasing workload capacity, all within existing infrastructure to address global AI demand.
• ​Renovenergy S.A.S, Colombia – Develops cost-effective green hydrogen electrolyzers using bioinspired silicon electrodes that are inspired by the nanoscale geometry of mitochondria to achieve high electron-transfer efficiency without relying on scarce precious metals.
• ​Semion Bio Corp, United States of America – Makes plants defend themselves by restoring natural defense mechanisms lost during domestication. Rather than targeting pests directly or genetically modifying crops, they activate plants’ own immune responses, enabling crops to repel pests, attract natural enemies, and become more resistant to diseases.
• ​Terrament, Inc., United States of America – Builds underground gravity storage in existing mines to tackle the growing energy crisis driven by data centers and aging infrastructure, using a patented, cable-free conveyance system inspired by the metachronal wave motion of caterpillars to support massive payloads across extreme vertical drops.
• ​WAVR Technologies, Inc., United States of America – Builds atmospheric water harvesting technology, inspired by the Australian tree frog’s ability to extract water directly from air, to bring water resilience to the world’s most resource-constrained industries.
• ​Xatoms Inc., Canada – Utilizes proprietary AI and quantum chemistry to design novel, visible-light-activated photocatalysts that mirror the solar-powered chemistry of photosynthesis to destroy persistent water contaminants without chemicals or toxic byproducts.

​The Ray of Hope Accelerator is a four-month initiative of the Biomimicry Institute that supports early-stage, nature-inspired startups developing regenerative solutions to global environmental challenges. Made possible through the support of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, the program provides non-dilutive funding, tailored mentorship, impact and sustainability business training, storytelling support, and access to a global network of experts, investors, and partners to help founders strengthen and scale their biomimicry-driven innovations.

This event closes the 2026 cycle of the Ray of Hope Accelerator.

Applications for the 2027 cohort will open on March 2nd.