• The sum of all of them will have a budget of €790,628, of which €454,607 will be included in the grant
• The Packaging Cluster is positioned as a key figure in collaborative innovation, being the second catalan cluster that has presented the most projects and the third that has moved the most amount
• The four projects are added to many others that are already underway and that the Cluster presented to the last call for 2021

The Packaging Cluster, a non-profit entity made up of more than 120 active members who represent the entire value chain of the sector, continues to bet on collaborative innovation and the promotion of projects as transforming elements of the packaging sector.

In this sense, in recent days the approval of the four projects that the Cluster presented and promoted in the line of aid to Innovative Business Groups (AEI) has been announced. The total budget will be almost €800,000, of which €454,607 will be subsidized. These figures place the Packaging Cluster as the second that has presented the most projects and the third that has moved the most amount.

The aid lines for Innovative Business Groups (AEI) depend on public funds and are intended to stimulate the generation of collaborative projects, supporting small and medium-sized companies in accredited clusters. The ultimate goal is to impact the leadership of digital transformation, promote Industry 4.0, post-Covid recovery and efficiency in the use of material and energy resources for the ecological transition.

“From the Packaging Cluster we firmly believe that this type of aid, which promotes innovation as a driver of transformation, is the key to progress and demonstrates the good health of the packaging sector. As a Cluster we have the obligation to advise and guide companies to apply for this type of aid, for this we also have a project office available to all our members”, emphasizes Martina Font, president of the Packaging Cluster.

The four projects in detail

The four approved projects join many others that the Cluster presented in the last call at the end of 2021. All of them have the same common thread: the improvement in the competitiveness of SMEs, which represent the bulk of the country's business ecosystem.

 Next, all the details of the projects approved in the last call are explained:

1. Duomo 1.0: Digitization of logistics processes focused on e-commerce

The first initiative driven by the Packaging Cluster, together with the Digital Cluster of Catalonia, will have the participation of the associated companies Twentic, Dribia and Akoma. A project with which a logistics platform will be developed to manage the virtual and physical warehouse of companies, according to the requirements of the e-commerce sales model. In this way, the sector will be able to integrate all its logistics in a digital, intelligent and automated way. Budget: €161,906, of which €97,141 will be subsidized.

2. Enotech 4.0, digital leadership in the wine sector

Clusaga, INNOVI, Packaging Cluster, Martin Codax, Sumarroca, Viña Costeira, AIS Vision Systems, Nexpert and TripleAlpha, come together to promote the ENOTECH 4.0 project.

This strategic initiative will be inter-cluster and inter-territorial, involving the Galician Food Cluster, the INNOVI Catalan Wine Cluster and the Catalonia Packaging Cluster, in addition to companies from both regions. The project is intended to promote competitiveness and the transition to digital leadership in the wine sector. Its objective is to improve the productivity of the wine sector by collecting, monitoring and analyzing data in the vineyard and winery to improve decision-making and streamline processes (such as harvesting, fermentation or bottling). Budget: €300,503 and a grant of €170,274.

3. ATEX&QPlant: digitization and improvement in the printing and manufacturing of labels and sleeves

This project aims to digitize data from the Rieusset production plant using different software technologies, hardware and new printed sensors that will help in the correct management of production performance and better control of ink treatment.

Rieusset, IronTech, TAI Smart Factory, Imaz Technology, Functional Print and Packaging Cluster will implement a new gas detection technology in an ATEX environment (explosive atmospheres) that will allow monitoring of gas levels to have a safe and controlled production space.

Budget: €169,013 and a subsidy of €95,965.

4. TREACABLE PACK: traceable flexible containers

Climesa, TAI Smart Factory, Fitex, Modacc and Packaging Cluster will develop a traceability system for the production and use of CLIMESA products (mainly flexible containers for construction) through the collection of process (during production) and display data solar (post-sale) to equip flexible containers with information that makes them more secure and reliable.

All this information will be displayed on a smart label sewn to the container, maintaining its security and resistance conditions. To incorporate all this data into the label, CLIMESA will incorporate the software solution developed by TAI Smart Factory (TAI) that collects and organizes plant data, and FITEX will study the use of photochromic inks to control the solar radiation received by the fabric during its useful life.

Budget: €159,206 and a subsidy of €91,227.

50 million euros for industrial clusters

Clusters continue to gain importance in recovering from the impact of Covid-19, something that is also perceived from the institutions. In this line, Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism of the Government of Spain, announced last week a new call for aid to industrial clusters for the month of June that will be endowed with 50 million euros.

This call is added to the one already made by the government at the beginning of the year, valued at a total of 20 million euros. Both are part of the 'Support Program for Innovative Business Groups (AEIs)' that the government approved this legislature and that provides for a total investment of 115 million euros for the period 2021-2023.

Maroto also explained that Catalonia is the autonomous community where clustering has the greatest presence and that is why it was the region that received the highest amount of aid in the first call, 6.7 million euros and 16 beneficiary clusters.