1 year after the acquisition of Swiss Polytechna AG

Polytechna AG has been operating in the Swiss conveyor technology market for decades representing well-known manufacturers in the fields of conveyor belts, drum motors and drive rollers, checkweighers, metal detectors, track & trace systems, bagging and bag emptying machines, and components for conveyor systems. As a full-service provider, Polytechna supports companies in a variety of industries, including food, chemical, pharmaceutical, logistics, printing and paper, industrial, agricultural, wood and textile.

Since January 2022, Polytechna AG is a fully owned subsidiary of REMA-TIP TOP Vulc-Material AG. Dipl.-Ing. Petra Vontz is Managing Director of Polytechna AG and heads the Service and Sales division at REMA TIP TOP Switzerland.

Ms. Vontz, how did the acquisition of Polytechna AG come about and how has the collaboration developed since then?

Markets change, the requirements of our customers become more complex. The objective of more than meeting our customers‘ demands with a broad product range, technical know-how and customer service at the highest level has linked REMA TIP TOP Vulc-Material AG and Polytechna AG for many years. Both companies have a long history of cooperation and have perfectly complemented each other in many successful projects with their specific technical focus and strengths.

Polytechna has many years of experience and expertise in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The core competencies of REMA TIP TOP, in addition to conveyor technology, are primarily in the automotive, industrial and surface protection sectors. Since Polytechna has become part of the REMA TIP TOP Group, we have been able to use synergies even more efficiently and in a more value-adding manner to broaden our range of services and offer our customers in the field of materials handling technology a 360° service that meets almost every need. The employees already knew each other through many years of trusting cooperation. This enabled valuable synergies to be exploited for our customers from day one.

How do the customers of both companies benefit from the acquisition?

Together, we not only have significantly more manpower, especially in customer service and field sales, but also in-depth specialist know-how for highly technical areas such as pharmaceuticals and food. Before the takeover, we worked with specialized partners on a project-by-project basis for highly industry-specific and application-specific requirements.

Today, we can deliver the right solutions from a single source for almost any requirement and any industry.

Here is an example: The cooperation with Polytechna began in the recycling sector, where wide conveyor belts made of plastic are used due to the uneven bulkiness of the transported material. Narrow conveyor belts made of rubber, such as those manufactured by REMA TIP TOP for industrial purposes, are often not suitable for recycling plants because of their heavy weight. Polytechna has the experience in plastic belts and the expertise in vulcanizing plastics to realize first-class solutions here as well.

With Polytechna’s experience and expertise, REMA TIP TOP is expanding its 360° service and thus sustainably strengthening its position in the Swiss conveyor technology market.

What trends and challenges are shaping the Swiss market in the field of conveyor technology?

As already mentioned, the requirements for materials handling technology are becoming increasingly complex. The signs of the times are also on digitalization in conveyor technology, for example, to monitor the operation of systems in real time and to manage maintenance efficiently. While many conveyor systems are still monitored visually, for example to detect damage in the belt and automatically stop operation, in the future systems will be completely digitized and monitored via digital mapping (digital twin).

For seamless monitoring of conveyor systems, REMA TIP TOP has developed the C-CUBE field management system, which consolidates all relevant data in a digital image and makes it available centrally to the technicians involved. With this innovative technology, regular and spontaneous inspections can already be done much more efficiently and reliably in a Swiss waste incineration plant, for example. And that’s just one area where digitization helps to efficiently monitor the operation of conveyor systems and avoid costly downtime.

REMA TIP TOP continues to drive the digitalization of conveyor systems actively to enable its customers to operate their plants more efficiently and reliably.

Thank you very much for the interesting interview, Ms. Vontz!