The ink factory of the future

Dr Moazzam Ali & Steve Paschky

Behind inconspicuous garage doors on the site of the former Wirkbau Chemnitz, scientists and young entrepreneurs are working on their dream. A few weeks ago, Saralon, a spin-off from the Institute of Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology, moved into its new home. They want to produce inks and revolutionise the printed electronics market. Dr Moazzam Ali, who comes from India, and his German partner Steve Paschky founded the company together with four other colleagues and talk about the packaging of the future.

When did you discover the topic of "printed electronics" and realise that you could start your own business?
Dr Moazzam Ali: I heard a lecture by Prof. Arved Hübler (Director of the Institute for Print and Media Technology - pmTUC) in Essen in 2009 when I was studying there. He spoke about printed electronics and I thought: This is the future. This technology can change the world. I asked Prof Hübler if I could work on this topic in his team and I already knew then that I wanted to start a company from this. I then came to Chemnitz in 2010.

So you've been in the city for six years. How did you set up the company here?
Dr Moazzam Ali: I worked towards the new company while I was working at the institute. I met Steve Paschky in 2013 and together we wrote an application for federal funding. Funded by the BMWi's EXIST research transfer programme, we started our spin-off in April 2014. We had great support from Prof Hübler throughout the whole process.
Steve Paschky: When we met in 2013, Dr Ali had already developed a corporate strategy and spoken to the first partners, such as the Saxeed start-up network. The EXIST funding programme was perfect for us. We were able to raise a total of almost 700,000 euros in funding through the state-funded programme. We then registered the company in February 2015. We first moved from the university to the start-up building on campus. We then moved into our new location in Lothringer Straße in April of this year. We simply needed more space to move forward.

What was it about these premises that convinced you?
Steve Paschky: We had a number of requirements. Proximity to the institute was important to us, and we were also looking for conditions that would enable industrial production. Here we have a large hall where we can carry out research and development, separate office space and the potential for further growth. It is also well developed and in good condition. We are close to the university, in the centre of the city and in the middle of an industrial area. Everything comes together here. The offer was right.

You equip packaging with printed functions. What can companies use this for?
Dr Moazzam Ali: The future belongs to "smart objects", intelligent systems. Packaging will be more than just a wrapper. We are talking about "smart packaging". The problem so far has been conventional electronics, which are very expensive. It is also not designed to be thrown away. Our aim is to add an additional benefit to the packaging. To do this, we use printed electronics. The big advantage is that we can apply the electronic functions relatively cheaply and combine this directly with the packaging printing process step. We can do this anywhere in the world - and with inks specially developed by us. Our product is therefore not the packaging itself, but the ink. Any company that has a printing press can use our ink. We supply the ink and the processing expertise so that companies can realise their packaging with printed electronics.

Steve Paschky shows packaging that can glow blue and a display that shows the time. But printed electronics can not only be used for advertising purposes, they can also be very useful. A box of tablets can indicate whether the packaging seal has been broken at the touch of a button. "Brand protection is an important issue. It's a big market in emerging countries," adds Dr Ali. The first prototypes and ideas are on the table, "there are of course many more possible applications," Paschky is certain. "The discussion is just beginning."

Steve Paschky: " The functional inks that we develop here serve as the basis for numerous applications that are utilised by companies on a completely individual basis. Depending on the country and target group, very different ideas can emerge. Together with our customers, we develop intelligent packaging without the companies having to significantly change their established processes. Of course, this requires a great deal of advice and transfer knowledge. However, companies know better how mass production of packaging works. From a long-term perspective, we are the suppliers, the ink factory.

What is special about your ink?
Dr Moazzam Ali: We combine different materials to create inks that have electronic properties.
Steve Paschky: We are the only company in the world that can offer inks to produce printed electronics using conventional printing processes. We have developed a system that makes it possible to print the individual layers in a single manufacturing process.

How difficult is it for you to find customers and conquer the market?
Steve Paschky: At the moment, we have three different target markets. There are many possible applications and a lot of interest in the marketing and promotion sector. Anything that lights up and flashes naturally attracts attention. We also have our first customers in this area. The second area is high-quality packaging, for example for cosmetics or electronic goods, which can offer additional functions such as adverts or similar. The third market concerns brand protection, a very challenging topic, as the standards here are very high and the decision-making processes are sometimes long. But here, too, we are in contact with larger companies. Of course, as a new company with this innovative technology, we have to do a lot of educational work and explain our product first. That takes time.

The team of six communicates mostly in English and has an international presence. "It was very easy for me to find the right people for the team, as we had already worked well together at university," explains Dr Ali. "I also see it as positive for the future that we have a close connection to the university." The young company has already won a number of awards. For example, from the "Initiative Weconomy". The certificate, a comic-like explanation of printed electronics, hangs on the office floor. The Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen has also become aware of the company and has invested a large sum in it.

What made you decide to launch the company in Chemnitz?
Dr Moazzam Ali: The company clearly has its roots here in the city, as it was developed at the Technical University. We love being here. And if we as a company pay taxes, why not here? It is clear to us that our headquarters will be in Chemnitz.
Steve Paschky : Ever since we met and developed this company, it was clear that the company would be based here. We received a lot of support from the city and the state, especially at the beginning: from Prof Hübler, the Saxony Economic Development Corporation, the SAB and the MIB. That creates a bond and we also want to give something back. Chemnitz is known for automotive engineering, mechanical engineering and the textile industry. But why not also as a hotspot for printed electronics?

To what extent do you feel comfortable as founders in Chemnitz?
Dr Moazzam Ali: It's a very good place to set up a company. It's not that expensive, there's plenty of space here. Transport connections, on the other hand, are very poor. Chemnitz is cut off from the world at night. We mainly have international customers. If a customer visits us and arrives at night, they can land at Leipzig Airport, but they have to spend the night in Leipzig and can only continue their journey to Chemnitz the next morning. That's a big problem. In most cases, we help ourselves by having Steve, who lives in Leipzig, personally pick up the visitors from the airport and drive them here.
Steve Paschky: The transport connections are really unfavourable. But what scares me just as much is the aggression towards strangers or people I don't know. The whole of Saxony suffers from the racist antics that take place here. We have to get a grip on this if the Free State wants to be attractive to international companies and investors. Some people have a very narrow view and are afraid of anything new. Politicians and society should think about this.

Do you have to encourage the people of Chemnitz?
Dr Moazzam Ali: Not really. My wife and I love Chemnitz. We have good friends here and feel at home. It's quiet here and there are some nice places.
Steve Paschky : Chemnitz certainly has some catching up to do in terms of quality of life and cultural offerings, but the general conditions here are nevertheless quite good. There is something to the saying: "Money is earned in Chemnitz, increased in Leipzig and spent in Dresden." Chemnitz has a long industrial tradition. Leipzig is strong in trade and tourism. Dresden has an attractive historic city centre. The city centre has also developed well here. Certainly, a few wrong decisions were made in the 1990s in terms of urban development, but attempts are now being made to correct this, as shown by the revitalisation of the Brühl. In addition, the Schloßchemnitz and Kaßberg neighbourhoods in particular offer a high quality of life, which is likely to increase in the coming years with corresponding economic development. This is particularly evident in the development of the campus and university site. As already mentioned, attention should be paid to the expansion of supra-regional connections with the Saxon conurbations. This is a major competitive disadvantage, especially for companies like us that do not operate exclusively in local markets. We should certainly be encouraged by the fact that the city is developing well economically, which is also reflected in the development of the population figures.