Various suction cups will be on display, including the BGX cup. Designed for handling thin and flimsy bags, they are made from FDA and EU approved blue silicone, and ensure excellent sealing even at low vacuum levels.

Additionally, Piab’s Food Cups – perfect for handling food items with irregular surfaces, will be on display. Made from high-end silicone, they are FDA and EU compliant, and are perfect for applications requiring gentle handling at low vacuum levels.

Piab will also showcase Joulin Grippers. From simple foam grippers for palletising robots to complete turnkey solutions for the wood industry, Joulin’s products are designed for efficient and reliable material handling.

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IB develops and builds customer-specific, turnkey systems for filling, emptying, metering, and conveying bulk materials. IB is also a well-known partner in the additive manufacturing industry, where they provide ultra-sonic sieving and reclaim machines.

The IB product portfolio completes the Piab additive manufacturing offering and enables Piab Group to offer full powder handling solutions, particularly in the Food, Pharma, and Chemical industries. The acquisition is planned to be finalised shortly, with the transaction fully funded through internal sources.

“The offering, the competence, and the know-how that IB brings, is a game changer for our vacuum conveying division. With this addition, we will be able to serve both our existing and new customers even better and create robust growth opportunities. IB and Piab share the same company culture and values. I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all our new colleagues,” said Floris Rouw, president of Piab’s vacuum conveying division.

Frank Scholz, owner and managing director of IB Verfahrens- und Anlagentechnik, said: “IB Verfahrens- und Anlagentechnik was founded in 2006 as an engineering company and today has around 30 employees. Together with Piab Group – who is known as a world market leader in vacuum transport solutions – a strong team comes into being for a strong future. We are convinced that both companies will profit from this acquisition and look forward to our journey with great confidence.”

The acquisition of Coval, meanwhile, adds a solid portfolio of premium products, highly experienced and skilled employees, a strong brand known for the highest quality standards and many new customers to Piab Group. Through the acquisition, Piab Group is evolving automation by strengthening its position as a world leading automation company. The transaction is fully funded through a combination of external and internal sources.

“We are very much looking forward to bringing the Coval team into the Piab family and we see a great culture fit routed in a strong passion for the future of robotics and automation. With this strategic move, we are confident in our ability to provide our customers with cutting-edge automation solutions, while strengthening our competitive advantage in the market,” said Peter Laurin, CEO of Piab Group

Gustav Falconer, president of Piab’s vacuum automation division, added: “Coval has a perfect strategic fit for our business. The market for industrial automation is growing rapidly and we foresee very strong growth opportunities with the addition of Coval’s competitive portfolio and highly skilled employees, whom I would like to take the opportunity to welcome to Piab Group.”

Michel Cecchin, owner and CEO of Coval, said: “Piab Group’s long history of innovation in vacuum technology and global presence will allow for Coval to further develop and provide a long-term home for our family business and its employees. By joining the Piab Group, Coval joins an excellent global company, a leading innovator in the vacuum technology market and together we will strengthen our leading position in the automation industry.”

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After various discussions with customers from plant engineering and the beverage industry, it was clear to Piab’s experts that a gripper for the simple automatic handling of six-packs with cardboard packaging was needed. Because this is how beer and beer-based mixed drinks are offered and must be packaged and palletized accordingly by the beverage industry. The difficulty with the automation of this process step has been that mechanical grippers cannot pick up the bottles from the top of the bottle caps, as these are usually sealed with a banderole made of aluminum or paper, which would be damaged. At the same time, the cardboard is very thin and unstable and must be handled with care. The gripper should also not leave any marks on the cardboard box to avoid an impression of the packaging being damaged.

The vacuum specialists from Piab, headed by Bernd Gries Manager Global S-Accounts, therefore developed a special gripper with rectangular suction cups. The rectangular suction cups take up the six-pack in only three places. In order to prevent the cardboard from being drawn into it due to the large suction surface and leaving marks, the Piab team developed a corresponding load support as part of the suction cups. This prevents the cardboard from being drawn in and getting damaged.

The gripper is manufactured using a 3D printing process and can therefore be easily adapted to different six-pack sizes. The fastest way to do this is via the exchangeable cheeks, which serve to stabilize the six-pack in the gripper during handling.

In addition to Piab’s rectangular suction cups, the gripper contains powerful COAX vacuum ejectors. One COAX ejector is integrated decentrally for each square suction cup. This provides additional safety when handling, because each ejector works independently of the others. So if one ejector fails due to contamination, the six-pack will continue to be held reliably by the other two. The gripper has an automatic blow-off pulse to enable the six-pack to be put down quickly. This cleans the ejector, channels and the suction cup at the same time.

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