Uhlmann Pac-Systeme is the winner of the Allianz Industry 4.0 Award 2025
Uhlmann Pac-Systeme received the Allianz Industrie 4.0 Award in the "Winner" category for its AI-based assistance system, Uhlmann SmartAssist. This award recognizes industrial companies in Baden-Württemberg, Germany that are advancing digital transformation and implementing digital solutions. The "Winner" category recognizes exceptional Industry 4.0 solutions. The market relevance and degree of innovation of the solution are both factors in a successful application. Dr. Mario Rometsch (left in the picture) and Florian Wahler (right) accepted the award. (Photo by © Allianz Industrie 4.0/Ludmilla Parsyak)
Up to 20 percent time saving thanks to the AI assistant SmartAssist
The Uhlmann SmartAssist is an AI-based system that supports Uhlmann Pac-Systeme employees in setting up complex, customer-specific packaging machines. "Uhlmann SmartAssist digitizes experiential knowledge and transfers it directly to the machine. This allows us to preserve expertise during ongoing operations and is expected to reduce processing time in final assembly by up to 20 percent. We are currently able to calculate over 70 percent of the final parameterization before the machine even enters final assembly," explains Dr. Mario Rometsch, Team Leader Analytics & AI at Uhlmann Pac-Systeme.
The company, which is part of the Uhlmann Group, builds machines that pharmaceutical companies worldwide use to package pharmaceuticals in blisters, trays, bottles, or folding cartons. Handling these sensitive and often fragile products requires high-precision machines and processing methods that comply with complex regulations.
SmartAssist: Learning App for time saving and more robust processes
Before delivering a new machine, technicians adjust it precisely to the customers’ requirements, taking up to 500 parameters into account. SmartAssist is a browser-based app that retrieves data from the machine and sends parameters suggestions to it. It is implemented in the Google Cloud environment and integrates seamlessly into the technicians' workflows.
Master data, such as product and foil type, etc., can be sent directly to the machine. Technicians can view all data live in the app, including the new parameters calculated and suggested by SmartAssist after a test run. The largely automated data transfer process also reduces the risk of errors associated with manual entry. This makes the entire process more robust. As new values are constantly being added to the app's database, the app continuously learns.
Automated processes systematically integrate practical knowledge from the machine setups, making it available to all assembly teams. The high degree of innovation of the SmartAssist AI solution and its market relevance for industrial companies were decisive factors in winning the Allianz Industry 4.0 Award.
About the Allianz Industrie 4.0
The Industry 4.0 Alliance Baden-Württemberg is a network initiated and founded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor, and Tourism, with a coordination office at the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) Baden-Württemberg. The award is presented in two categories, “Excellence” and “Winner.” Only companies, research institutions, and other institutions based in Baden-Württemberg are eligible for the “Winner” category.
