Bringing industrial AI to high-performance plastics
BUSS is a world leader in compounding, the highly technical process of mixing plastics with additives so they gain specific properties, for example, to insulate high-voltage cables, resist fire or meet strict medical standards. The company invented the co-kneader, a type of processing machine now used in thousands of installations worldwide and remains a reference partner for demanding plastics manufacturers.
SenseHUB is a digital platform that connects its machines and gives customers a clear view of how their equipment is running, when maintenance is needed and where performance can be improved. The Predictive Quality project takes this a step further. By adding new sensors and advanced AI models, BUSS and CSEM aim to predict product quality while production is still running – instead of waiting for slow laboratory tests or discovering problems after a batch is finished. This will allow BUSS’ customers to detect deviations earlier, avoid producing off-spec material, reduce waste and energy consumption, and get new recipes up and running faster.
A competition designed for Swiss SMEs
The CSEM Digital Journey competition was created specifically for Swiss SMEs with up to 250 employees, offering them the opportunity to realize ambitious digitalization projects with expert support. The winner receives up to CHF 100,000 in development and digital technology transfer hours from CSEM.
The expert jury this year brought together representatives from ETH Zürich, digitalswitzerland, EPFL, Swisstopo, Swissmem and the Swiss Parliament, ensuring a strong link to the Swiss innovation ecosystem and industrial needs.
Alexandre Pauchard, CEO at CSEM, commented: “BUSS is a great example of how an SME can turn deep process know-how into smart, data-driven services. Their Predictive Quality project perfectly reflects the spirit of the Digital Journey.”
Bahaa Roustom, VP Marketing and Business Development at CSEM, added: “BUSS stood out with a project that is ambitious, feasible and directly connected to a clear market need. Their Predictive Quality project has all the ingredients to become a new benchmark in compounding.”
Victor Callegari, Head of Business Development and Innovation at BUSS, said: “For BUSS, this collaboration is a unique opportunity to turn predictive quality into a differentiating service for our customers worldwide—while keeping development anchored in Switzerland.”
