Research cooperation between Bosch and Bühler for food processing technology

Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions and Bühler are to expand their research and development partnership. Contractual proceedings to form a commercial partnership were completed on 22 August 2016. The cooperation provides great opportunities to leverage Bosch know-how in electronics, sensor technology and software around the Internet of Things for the food processing industry. The two companies successfully cooperated in a two-year research project to integrate cutting-edge Bosch MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) sensors into food production technology. The results are very promising: individual rolls in rotating machines can now be equipped with wireless sensors to measure temperature and vibration in real time during the production process. This allows monitoring and optimisation of the end product through better alignment of the rolls. Operators also benefit from predictive maintenance services, reducing downtime and operating costs. The first applications from this intensified cooperation will be launched in 2017.

“Following our successful R&D partnership, we are pleased to take the next step to form a commercial partnership. We are excited to utilise this partnership to create process solutions and services that improve yield and performance at reduced operating costs for our customers,” said Johannes Wick, CEO Grains & Food at Bühler. “During the last two years Bühler and Bosch have established a good relationship and met demanding requirements with first selected applications in grain milling.”

“We are excited to continue and extend our partnership with Bühler, a major industry specialist and leading company in the field of food processing technologies,” said Thorsten Müller, CEO of Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions. “At Bosch, we combine experience gained from our own manufacturing activities in more than 250 plants with our expertise as a leading provider of electronics, sensors and software for industrial IoT solutions. We are not only optimising our own worldwide manufacturing base, we are also actively seeking to work with partners like Bühler to build a value creation network beyond company boundaries and turn Industry 4.0 into reality.”

Image: Johannes Wick, CEO Grains & Food, and Thorsten Müller, CEO von Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions, sign the R&D cooperation between Bühler and Bosch.